Il Capo Dei Capi
by marimur
Summary: Magnus Bane has left Washington DC and his past behind to start working for the NYC mafia. The most powerful clan is ruled by a man with no scruples and is not as it might seem from the outside. Will Magnus survive, resist, and most importantly find love in the concrete jungle? And on which side is Alec Lightwood?Btw: I not own a thing...sadly
1. Chapter 1

**Magnus PoV**

My various golden and silver rings were clattering against each other as I was drumming my fingers on the shiny surface of the bar waiting for something unexpected to happen. I threw my head back, the bright lights of the club blinding me momentarily. I blinked and looked down again seeing white spots all over making the scene look grotesque. I was standing in the very middle of the bar and eying the bar tender while chipping my nails due to my drumming. I started counting how long he would hold up the bottle of Smirnoff over the coke that was already painting the insides of the glass a rich golden –brown. I must admit, even though I am a party animal and I go wild, I really had something to do today. I wasn't here to be entertained, but I was here to discuss business with one of the most famous and dangerous mafia clans in New York City. I started tapping my foot along the dupstep music and watched as the rich and famous walked to the dance floor, their eyes big and their smiles wide, while mine was nonexistent. I rolled my eyes at two beautiful girls who were laughing as loud as a sea gull. It was annoying the shit out of me.

"Hey, what can I get you?"

I turned around to see the bar tender grinning at me with white perfect teeth. He was dressed all in black with some piercing in his ears and a silver star around his neck. Morgenstern. Not only did this name stand for one of the most expensive clubs in town, but also for The Boss. Only a few have had the privilege to be in _his_ presents. Me? Not one of them, and I doubted that I would ever be. I would never get as high as to be able to even glimpse at The Boss. I was but a mere soldier, in other words; The one that does the dirty work, or as the mob likes to call it, the man of honor.

"Nothing, thanks"

I decided that it would be best to stay clear headed when dealing with the most powerful mafia. My eyes followed a guy with a great body built, golden curls and a fantastic smile. The color of his eyes was impossible to make out in the distance, but man he looked good. I smiled thinking about all the things I could do with a boy like that, but my smile died on my lips as another thought came crashing into my head. I needed to stay focused. I had no idea why 'Doctor Condori' would want to meet me here. With doctor, I do not mean your nice house doctor who gives you aspirin and crap. They just call him like that. The Doctor Condori was the man I wanted to meet tonight to see if I could work for the mafia or for 'Their Cause' as they liked to say. The bar tender had turned around to satisfy another client in desperate need of the burning liquid. I was never much of a drinker, or smoker, nor did I do drugs, like ever. I was the good boy who had studied Law in Washington DC, till that incident that made me do, what I am about to do now. How ironic, really. First Law, now La Cosa Nostra. Well, my momma would be proud of me, would she even acknowledge that I'm her son.

If my mood had been bad this morning, now it had just hit rock bottom in like two seconds. Thinking of _it _and my mother was just not good for my health. Good thing I was goona go see a doctor.

I looked down and tugged at my silky sleeves. I had chosen my attire very carefully this morning. Not that I was living under the bridge, but meeting with the mafia even made me second guess. Starting from the bottom, I had put on black, shiny, pointy leather shoes, very classic I must say, a pair of not-so-skinny- jeans, also in black. With a silver blouse and a black vest I had finished my outfit feeling colorless and somehow naked. I had only had time to put on a bit of gel in my hair and the makeup, consisted of black eyeliner as usual. I looked up as I heard someone cough slightly and was met with a beautiful creature. He had silky raven hair that was shorter on the sides and was styled at the front. His pale skin looked like porcelain and his high cheekbones were covered with a light flush. My eyes moved to his and finally I had my 'unexpected thing'. Those eyes, I swear I will never forget. Azure blue at the very edge, turquoise surrounding the pupil that looked like an isle in the Caribbean Sea. He was two or three inches shorter than me, which was hot. His brought shoulders were clothed in a black suit that looked a lot like Armani to me. His tie was a nice silver color and had dark grey stripes. His lips formed a small smile and he chuckled lightly. I must have looked like an idiot. And even though it was indeed unexpected, I couldn't shake the feeling off, that I somehow knew him.

"Sorry, but could you move, please?" he said and his voice sounded exactly right for this angel. Not as strong as mine, but still melodic and calming.

"Move? Where to, darling? "My flirting- instinct got activated by itself and I couldn't help the words forming in my mouth.

His amazing eyes opened just a fraction more and the look of surprise was one that I couldn't understand. Did this guy never get hit on? What was up with the world? He chuckled lightly again and I just felt my knees weaken. Good thing that I wanted to keep my head straight. Great work Magnus, now mommy would surely be proud.

"Um…move out of the way. I'd like to get a drink" he said and looked me in the eye.

"I'd like that too." I moved out of the way to let him lean against the bar as well, but I didn't go. I stood beside him, our elbows touching and my heart beating like crazy. He glanced at me and I winked. The blush I was hoping for never came. He only raised his hand to get the bar tenders' attention. I was about to tell the beauty that this simple gesture would not get the bar tender to come running to us, but I kept my mouth shut when I saw that it actually worked.

The bar tender quit flirting with a brown haired, lonely girl who was sitting on a golden bar stool drinking her worries away. He had a little red umbrella behind her ear and was holding her head up by her bent elbow that was resting on a puddle on the bar.

The beauty beside me wrinkled up his nose in disgust at the pitiful creature. Well the bodyguards will remove her soon enough as it was one of the finest clubs in Manhattan.

The bar tender came to a halt in front of us and asked the angel what he'd like to order.

The boy, he looked really too young to be in this +21 club, didn't need time to think.

"One Jameson on the Rocks and a Dark Horse, please" he said and the bar tender began mixing the latter drink, seeing as the first one was really just Irish whiskey.

"So, which one's for me?" I asked cockily and he smiled a bit, even though I somehow got the impression that he didn't want to.

His eyes wandered from the bar tender who was trying to do as best as he could, like he was afraid that the beauty might turn into a monster and bite his head off if he didn't approve of the drink.

"Neither of them" he answered me and although I already knew that, it stung.

"Well how about you let the Jameson go and come have a drink with me, beautiful?" I asked him looking into his eyes and noticing how full his dark lashes were. Damn.

"I won't, sorry" he said smiling but still determined. I sighed and he smiled turning away from me once more. At this two huge man, all in black, walked past us and started their attempts at waking up the woman, who seemed to have fallen asleep on the bar. The men took her arm lightly and carried her away. The Morgenstern Club was clean and safe again, halleluiah.

"There you go" The bar tender said and smiled nervously. The boy took the drinks in his pale and elegant hands. I knew, now was the moment.

I took his slender wrist and stopped him from getting away that easily. He looked up at me and had to tilt his head a bit to look me in the eyes.

"Please. Don't go like that. I would really love to get to know you" I said and held on to his wrist like it was saving me from drowning and dying a horrible death. His sapphire colored eyes didn't make the prospect of drowning any better.

He bit his lip and I thought I needed to kiss him right that instant. Then he said:

"Look, I have a boyfriend okay?"

"So?" That had never been a problem before. He just looked at me like I was crazy.

"So…I don't want to cheat on him and I love him." He said in such a voice that it made me feel like a five year old, or an idiot. You choose.

"Well, give me your number at least" I pleaded. God, I was so desperate.

He shook his head looking down. His hands must have turned into chunks of ice, with all the 'on the rocks' and stuff.

"I can't, please, let me leave." He said and it made me feel awful. But it would make me feel even worse if I had to just let him go. I needed_ something_. Anything that I could stalk him with….I mean…yeah.

"You're name. Just you're name."

But he shook his head again, not looking down anymore, but over my shoulder. Maybe he was searching for his boyfriend. Maybe his boyfriend was a professional wrestler and-

Stop it Bane!

I shook my head to get rid of very disturbing images in my head and said:

"C'mon, what harm will it do to know you're name, huh?"

I knew that inside his pretty head, a conflict was raging like a wild fire. On the outside though, he just looked nervous and anxious.

"Please, just let me leave okay" he said and tried to get this wrists free, but I wouldn't let him go that easily. I haven't had any in months and this boy was just too beautiful to be true. The boy tried to walk passed me, but I stood in his way and touched his cheekbone with the hand that wasn't keeping his wrist in shackles. He recoiled like I had burned him and shouted: "Jace!"

Again I was struck with his odd behavior. First the bar tender that ran to us like a sick puppy with just a hand sign, when he was clearly busy with something else, and now this. The remix of Rihanna's' single Diamonds was louder than my heartbeat and this boy just shouted 'Jace' like he was calling for someone close by. It was impossible that said 'Jace' , his boyfriend as I guessed, would hear him so I just touched his cheek again.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" The boys' eyes were not a summer day in Jamaica anymore, but the Atlantic on a stormy night, high up in the north. To this day I still don't know why I did what I did next; I just know what the consequences were. As ridden by the devil himself I leaned closer to the boy who let the drinks fall down on the white marble floor. The sound of glasses breaking and liquid spreading all over the floor was lost in the music. I ignored it, everything and anyone, except this boy in front of me who was crushed between me and the bar. It sure as hell must not have been pleasant. In a moment I captured his lips with mine, taking in all the different flavors of his mouth. He was struggling against me but I didn't notice. I never did. The moment was so hot and I wanted it to never end, but my prayers were not heard. Suddenly there were four hands, two around my neck and two around my arm. I felt them twist my arm behind my back and I whimpered. Man that fucking hurt. I opened my eyes, I didn't even notice when I closed them (must have been the kiss…) , and found myself nose to nose with a golden eyed muscled man, that didn't look much older than the beauty I was kissing. Wait?! What? Kissing?! How the hell did that happened. I didn't have time to think about my instincts going on autopilot, because the amber eyes didn't look very happy about this whole situation. The other male, I was sure it was one, held both of my hands in a vice grip behind my back. My whole vision was the very handsome face of the golden haired boy that I had admired earlier. Any thoughts about him, eradicated with one look of those deep blue eyes. Talking about him. The boy was standing, his fingers on his full lips, behind the blond dude, like he was being protected. Yeah, protected from who, you idiot? How could I do that? What the- What the fuck is wrong with me?

"Who the hell are you?" asked blondie and I decided that I already didn't like him.

"Can I answer that without being in danger of having broken my arms?" I said drily and his eyebrows disappeared up his hairline.

"Trust me, you are in no position to ask me that"

Shit, this was some serious crap.

"Jace…" I heard the boy whisper nervously and the blond dude, Jace, turned to look at him. His expression turned from 'Iwillripyouintopieces' to 'wowiamsoconsernedaboutyou'.

"You should go to Seb"

"He didn't do anything"

To say that Jace was surprised to hearing this would have been the understatement of the year. Even I was surprised. This boy was even more interesting than I thought.

"It was just a misunderstanding, he confused me for someone else" the boy said and even without knowing him, I knew he was a horrible liar. Jace looked a second longer at the boy before turning back around.

"Is that true? Did you just mistake him for someone else?" he wanted to know and I felt like in an old Western movie. Soon there would be guns and some cheesy music in the background instead of David Guettas' _She Wolf_.

I gulped and thought _no_, but said: "Yeah"

Jace nodded and after a few tense seconds, said: "Jordan, let him go"

I instantly felt the blood returning to my poor fingers as the man behind me stepped away in front of the boy. He was a bit taller than Jace, had brown hair and green eyes. The surfer type, should have known. In his face there was no threat or danger, not like in Jaces'. I understand if your boyfriend is an overprotective freak, but two guys? What was up with that?

"Sorry 'bout that man, can't be too careful" Jordan said and I nodded. Thank you God there are still some normal people left. I felt Jaces' amber eyes on me but I ignored him and tried to step forward to apologize to the boy I had just involuntarily kissed. And I was not even drunk. Jace it seemed didn't like the idea of me being near his boyfriend and I took the hint.

"I'm sorry, darling. I... You just look a lot like a friend of mine" This was not even a lie, just a mild exaggeration. The boys' cheeks finally turned a hot pink and I smiled a bit. He was till so fucking hot.

"It's okay. Don't worry." He mumbled before turning away and walking toward the VIP area of the club. Jordan was on his heels which I thought was kind of weird seeing as Jace was his boyfriend, right?

Jace finger pocked me in the chest.

"Listen to me. If you ever pull that stunt off again, I will have to make sure you cannot even walk out of this club, do you understand?"

I had no voice left so I just nodded like a frightened school girl.

"Good. Now, scram" he said and that I did. It's not as if I am the bravest of them all, I mean, yeah sure I am about to meet with the mafia –

Shit! The fucking meeting! Shit! I looked at my silver watch and saw that I was already five minutes too late. I cursed again, and made my way to the VIP area. The areas were separated by a heavy black curtain that sparkled in the dancing lights of the club. I took one last look at the bursting dance floor, seeing a Chinese woman cleaning up the mess of the spilled drinks. Wow, great Magnus, you didn't just ruin the boys night, you also let him go home thirsty. So proud mom was the only thing I could think of as I tried not to fall over my own feet. The only light that helped me find my way around the VIP lounge were little red lights at the sides of the room. Everything was kept in black and silver. Black chairs, black bar, black suits, silver dresses. The VIP area was also full, but at the very end I could make out a silver door with _The Morgenstern_ printed across of it in bold letters. Before the double doors were two huge men in black suits. A skin colored ear bud in their ears letting them know what their order was. In this case I'd take a wild guess and say: Guard the door. I walked up to the two men that eyed me like I was some sort of insect which they wanted to crush beneath their heavy boots. I fumbled nervously with my sleeves till I was standing right in front of them. I took a breath and opened my mouth to talk, when the door opened and a man came out with a warm smile on his lips.

"Mr. Bane, I presume?" he asked and I nodded, thinking that they must have already been awaiting me.

"A pleasure meeting you. My name is Mark Cook, but they all call me Hook" he said and I took his hand and greeted him. He was older than me, 35 or something, his handshake was strong and his skin was rough. He had a friendly face, ginger hair like a carrot, which I truly admired, (I love ginger hair!). His eyes had a warm shade of brown and his lips were so fine that when he laughed they would disappear.

"Please, come with me Mr. Bane, I'll take you to Doctor Condori"

"Thank you very much" I answered. One should watch his mouth while dealing with the mafia, and more if they were of a higher rank than you. Hook was definitely a Capo. His suit, his tie, his shoes; all fine materials and a very nice design. As I was walking behind him, I noticed how the colors changed again. Now everything was black and red. I felt like I didn't really belong, with ordinary clothes and my ordinary car. Everything was luxurious in this place. The tapestry looked even more expensive than my motorcycle. I had to remind myself that I wasn't totally foreign to this world. They all knew my father.

We arrived at yet another door, this one even more beautiful and impressive than the other one; all gold and white. Well The Morgenstern isn't _the_ club for nothing. The two men that stood before this door looked exactly like the ones outside the other one. Black, big, bombastic.

I tried to smile at them, but they just stared right ahead, not even acknowledging me as Hook opened the door for me. I stepped in a room with chocolate brown walls, nice comfortable and very expensive looking chaise lounges and a diamond chandelier high above. The dim light made me want to curl up and just take a nap, but I was here for business. I wasn't alone in the room. There , of course, were more men that looked at me like I was the enemy number one. This time I didn't try to smile.

"Why don't you sit down while I go get Doctor Condori, Mr. Bane?" Hook suggested with another smile. I nodded and he left through another door. I sat down on the chairs and felt myself relax. Luxury feels nice. As I sat there I thought about home; Washington DC. I had booked a room in a hotel in Brooklyn; Manhattan was just way too expensive. I just hoped that this wouldn't take too long. Sitting on a comfortable, fluffy chair conjured up images of blue eyes and porcelain skin. Wow, I still couldn't believe what I had done to the poor boy. He must have thought I was a freak. But why did he defend me then? My thought were interrupted as the door opened and I saw Hook coming in, followed by more men in suits, I swear to God they are like cockroaches, and a man in a white suit that had little rhinestones on his tie. His skin was a darker shade, a bit like mine, only that I had Asian roots and he looked like a South American. His teeth shined abnormally white and his eyes were such a dark brown that I couldn't see his pupil. He didn't have a strong built but he looked healthy and around 30. More or less. I stood up in a fluid and elegant movement and shook the mans' outstretched hand.

"Mr. Bane, we were waiting for you" he said and his light accents tinged his deep voice. The other men sat around a huge dark wooden table which was surely used to play poker on. The green mat was clean and looked new.

"Please let's sit down" he said and so I did. The chairs were too comfortable to be good. Hook also sat on the table but the other men stayed where they were.

"I am Raphael Condori, but in the _familgia_ they call me The Doctor Condori as you might have heard" When he started to speak I noticed how the other men stopped moving and concentrated on us. They were just silent observers.

"Yes I did. Well like I see you already know who I am" At that The Doctor smiled. It wasn't a warm smile, not to me anyway.

"I know you're name, but that doesn't mean that I know you, Mr. Bane" he said and I nodded

"It takes more to get to know somebody. If you really want to know how and what someone thinks, you have to watch him closely, over time. It takes a lot of wit let me tell you" he said and winked at me.

"It sounds like you have experience with that, yet you don't seem much older than I am"

"I am 30 years old and yes, to answer your question, I have already had my share of it" With that said he made a hand sign and a man left the room. The sign was the same that the beautiful blue eyed boy used at the bar. This seemed such a long time ago. I wondered briefly where he was. With Jace? I couldn't stop the jealousy that spread through my veins at the thought of the blondie.

"So, Mr. Bane, tell me, how's your father?" Raphael asked. I was surprised, yes, not a lot of people had the bravery to ask me that question. Not because I am such an intimidating character, but because my father is. Or was. I don't even know.

"He is…behind bars" I said and heard The Doctors' laugh echo around the room. I looked at him as the door opened again and the man that had left before came through the door with two drinks in his hand, two Black Velvets. The golden brown liquid danced in the glass as the man sat it down in front of me.

"Thank you. How did you know what I drink?" I asked Raphael

"Like I said, I have had experience getting to know people" I decided to leave it at that and after taking a sip of the drink I sat the glass back down on the green mat.

"Well, let's talk business" said Raphael and I nodded. "What do you want from _us_, Mr. Bane? " By us he meant the most powerful mafia in New York City.

I leaded forward and said: "I want to work for you"

The Doctor leaned back and put his hands together. "Hm"

"Hm?" I asked after a few seconds.

Raphael eyed me with a pensive expression like he was deciding if I was worth it or not.

"Okay." He finally said. My eyes got wide with surprise and I looked at Hook that hadn't said anything the entire time.

"Just like that? No…Test?"

"Test? What do you mean?" Raphael said with a smile.

"I dunno, to see if I am trustworthy, if I'm working for the police-"

"Are you?" he interrupted me with a serious expression

"Of course not but-"

"You heard my answer Mr. Bane" he stopped me and I fell silent, my face still a confused mask. "But there is nothing to worry about. You have already passed our test."

"I…did?" I couldn't remember any tests.

The Doctor chuckled and nodded. "Your father is proof enough for us"

So this was about my father after all. I should have guessed that I was going to bump into friends of his. The Doctor seemed like one of them.

"Alright. So, as soldier, what are-"

But Raphael interrupted me yet again raising his hand. His dark brown eyes looked at me with amusement and arrogance. I gulped but my back was straight. I would have to learn how to stand straight and look proud in front of them in order for them to respect me.

"You won't be a mere soldier, Mr. Bane, no, you are far too valuable for us" Raphael said and my eyebrows showed my astonishment.

"Valuable?" I mean, yeah, I look like a fucking God and my fashion sense is better than Versace's and I have a degree in law, but that's pretty much it. I have nothing that the mafia would want from me, or do I ?

"Indeed, Mr. Bane. Valuable"

Doctor Condori raised his glass to his lips and before taking a sip he added: "I have to discuss it with The Boss still, but I'm pretty sure you will be able to work as a Capo "

I nearly choked on my own spit.

"Capo?!"

At this Hook also turned to Raphael and looked at him incredulously.

"But Raphael -"

"Shut it Hook" he said with a final tone and Hook seemed to shrink in this chair. Under the dim light of the chandelier I could make out some sweat pearls that had gathered on this temple. With shaky hands he tried to wipe them away. I noticed that the man hadn't brought him a drink.

"Mr. Bane, the Boss will be the one to decide which position you take. But let me assure you that you are worth a lot more that some other Capos I know." At this he looked at Hook. "And as you know, I am good at figuring people out." He winked and leaned forward again, whispering in my ear that it send shivers over my skin.

"Hook is not even the half of you"

I wanted to ask what exactly he meant by that when the door opened for the hundredth time it seemed. In stepped a tall and broad man with blond hair that was so light that it seemed white. He had a strong jaw and eyes black as the night. Under the luxurious Prada suit (I was sure it was Prada) I could see his muscles moving, it made him look like a dangerous animal. Maybe it was the whole situation, the dim light, Raphael's' unnaturally white teeth, the cold drink that had turned my stomach into a chunk of ice or the smell of the green poker mat; I still don't know what it was that made goosebumbs break out all over my body. I was cold, and then I was hot. My tongue felt rough and furry, my rings seemed to drain my fingers of their blood. As I felt the mans' eyes on me, I froze, I was unable to move and wave after wave of _fear_ hit me like a brick wall, ramming into my brain and turning it into mush.

I was so caught up, trying to make myself smaller so that that _predator _would just ignore me, that I didn't notice the second person entering the room.

"Mr. Bane let me introduce you to The Boss" Raphael said. I felt stupid for ever shivering at the Doctors' voice. I stood up and noticed with some satisfaction that the Boss was a bit shorter than me. Not much, but enough for my ego to feel a bit better.

Seeing him up close the Boss looked even scarier. It were his eyes, I was sure of it. Those soulless, pitiless eyes that seemed to drain all life out of me. Not only I was affected, I noticed that the men moved around nervously and their eyes were glued on the Boss' movements. I understood them, he was magnetic.

I shook his hand and said with a firm voice: "Nice to meet you"

The Boss smiled crookedly and let go of my hand. His shake had been very strong and I resisted the urge to see if he had left any bruises.

"Mr. Bane, I have already heard all about you" his voice was rich and deep and mine seemed like Mickey Mouse' beside his.

"Really?" I asked a bit out of breath. There was someone else in the room but the he was sitting on of the chairs, in the shadows.

"Yeah" he said and turned to Raphael.

"Did you talk about his position already?" He asked and when he did I felt the power surrounding him like a halo of light. He _was_ magnetic. I never thought about meeting the Boss, so naturally I never thought about how the Boss might be. He was young and handsome, which was a curse and a blessing for me. Why did they all have to have those muscles? Don't they know that it's very distracting? The Boss had pale skin, not as pale as the boy that I kissed at the bar, but still; pale. How was he so young?

"Yes" answered Raphael and looked down on the chairs.

"Alexander, what a nice surprise. I didn't know you'd come today. I would have put on something else" he said and I screwed up my eyes to see into the shadows. I noticed the Boss' look of disapproval and light growl. The figure stood up and walked into the light and I had a strange feeling of déjà vu. Piercing sapphire eyes, porcelain skin, tall, lanky, lashes, raven hair…**_fuck_**.

The boy walked up to stand in front of Raphael but his eyes danced to me. He was smiling lightly.

"Hello Raphael" he greeted the South American. Raphael took his hands and kissed it and I was sure that he'd blush again like he did before. But it never came. No rosy cheeks. What a disappointment.

"It is always nice to see you my dear friend" Raphael let go of his hand and to my surprise he looked me straight in the eye.

"It is a pleasure to meet you … Mr. Bane" he said and he chuckled lightly. Oh God, I already wanted to kiss him again.

"The pleasure is all mine Mr…?" I said and took his hand.

"Lightwood. But call me Alexander, please" he said and I could feel that he was thinking about our real, first encounter.

"Of course" I said.

"Hook!" said the Boss and almost everyone jumped a bit. The one being called stood up and grinned at Alexander.

"Hey Alex-"

"Come here!" the Boss said and two of the men in black walked up to Hook and guided him out the door. The Boss was about to turn around and follow them when Alexander stopped.

"Sebastian…let it be. He didn't do it" I was surprised at the warmth and gentleness those words expressed. Alexander was looking at the Boss, Sebastian, with pleading eyes. His hand around Sebastian's' biceps looked smaller than it really was.

Sebastian nodded and Alexander smiled and just like that the beast was gone and an ordinary man stood before me.

"They'll take care of it" the Boss said and Alexander's smile disappeared. He shook his head and lowered his head.

"So, Mr. Bane, please sit down, I'll tell you about you duties in the _famiglia_" he said and I sat down again. Raphael waited till Alexander was about to sit down to get his chair for him. Alexander murmured a tiny 'thanks' and sat down between Sebastian and the Doctor. He looked small somehow between those two, even though he wasn't.

"Let me get right to the point Mr. Bane. As you know our _areas_ that we have specialized on are drug dealing and prostitution, also wind energy, but that'll not be of your concern. "

I nodded, I already knew that. Alexander's reaction when Sebastian said 'prostitution' was the more interesting thing. It looked like he flinched but I couldn't be sure.

"Right now Mitchell Rose is the Capo leading the Drug business. But you see Mr. Bane, he is already in his 50's which is not the best age if you know what I mean. Well, I want you to take over this area. You will have to stay in contact with Spain and Ireland; those are the two European countries that _work_ more closely with us. You job will be supervising three soldiers and six associates. You will have to distribute the different drugs to the last person. When the drugs come via ship, you will be the one making sure that they get to where they are supposed to get."

I nodded. I knew that

"If the police catch our drugs we lose millions of dollars, so; don't screw up. Do you think you will be able to do this, Mr. Bane?"

"Yes"

I said and risked a quick look at Alexander. He had his head bowed, looking down at the green mat. He was so beautiful.

"Good" Sebastian said "Where are you staying?" he asked then.

"I booked a room in a hotel in Brooklyn" I answered meeting his fierce gaze.

"Brooklyn?" he said like I had just announced to be living in a spillway. I nodded either way.

"You will stay with us" he said and I was speechless. With the Boss and…yeah, and who? Who is _us_?

"With you?" I asked cautiously

Sebastian nodded and said: "I live here in Manhattan in a penthouse with Alec."

I needed a moment to process that. The Boss of the most powerful mafia Clan was the boyfriend of the beautiful boy that I had kissed and flirted with before? Holy. Shit. I think my face turned green.

Alexander, or Alec, blushed as Sebastian took his hand and stood up dragging him with him.

"I'm tired, we are going home now. Raphael, make sure that Hook learn this lesson, I don't want him screwing up again."

Raphael nodded and shook Sebastian's hand. He kissed Alec's hand again and I also said my goodbyes.

"Thank you for everything" I said and he just smiled

"Get a good night's rest, tomorrow you'll be having another meeting with me and then I'll tell you more about your job. Buenas noches Señor Bane."

I smiled a last time and followed Alec and Sebastian out of the room. I walked behind them and watched as they held hands. Suddenly Sebastian let Alec go and walked beside me, letting Alec walk alone by himself.

"I hope you aren't afraid of heights" he said and grinned like a lion.

"No. Why?"

"Penthouse and all"

"Ah..right" I said and didn't know what else to tell him. Why was he walking beside me and not his boyfriend?

Alec looked kind of sad, walking all by himself. We walked out of the first VIP room and then out of the second, but we didn't go back in the club. We took a turn left and there were two men waiting at the door. When they saw Alec they opened the door for him and waited till we also were through. The cold winter night hit me like a fist and I had to pull my scarf tighter around my neck. A white Porsche Cayenne was waiting a few steps away. I looked back at the club, noticing that from behind it was just an old dirty and grey building.

"Keys?" said Sebastian and one of the men that had been following us all the way outside, gave him silver car keys without saying anything. Sebastian opened the passenger door for Alec that gave him a grateful smile and got in.

"Do you want to drive Mr. Bane?" Sebastian asked me and I just shook my head. I have never even seen a car like that. Well, not that I remember.

"I'll sit behind" I said

"Suit yourself" was the last thing the Boss said and we both got in the car.

The engine buzzed and I looked around. The inside of the car was even more impressive than the outward appearance. The seats were a dark rich brown leather and the rest was cream –colored. There were little plasma TV's on the back of the front seats and everything smelled like vanilla.

"If you're wondering about the smell, it's Alec" said Sebastian and laughed when Alec hit him on the arm.

"Well, I like vanilla, what can I say?" he said and smiled at me. I got that warm fuzzy feeling again and had to stop myself before I started fantasizing about the boy again.

"It's a good smell" I said and Alec blushing just a tiny bit.

"Did you know that Raphael's idol is Elvis?" said Sebastian looking for just a second at Alec.

Alec chuckled but said :" No he's not."

"I swear he is" said Sebastian and I saw how he smiled lightly when Alec said:" Why would you say that?"

"Didn't you see what he was wearing today? I swear he looked like Elvis" Sebastian laughed and I saw how Alec looked at him lovingly. Fuck, the jealousy is back.

"Well he is nice" said Alec and at that Sebastian's expression sobered.

"He is not _nice_ Alec. He is just nice to you" he growled and Alec frowned.

"He is always nice to you too"

"When you're with me" Sebastian said and turned left. The city lights made his face look like a mask.

"He does it on purpose you know. He just wants your a-"

"Sebastian! Thant's not true!" shouted Alec but Sebastian seemed dead serious.

"What do you think Magnus?"

"About what?" I asked thinking that they had already forgotten me.

"About what we were talking about obviously"

"Right. Well…He was nice to me as well, but he did kiss the back of your hand which is not …normal" What the hell was I even saying. Ah! Right it was not me speaking but the stupid jealousy.

Sebastian though seemed satisfied.

"See even _he_ has noticed it" he said and Alec remained silent.

"I don't like people touching what's mine" Sebastian said before driving into a garage and parking the car. He turned around and grinned at me like a wolf would grin at his prey.

"Welcome home"

**A/N: Hello! So first of all thank you for reading as always and second, I did not forget my other story and I will continue it as soon as possible now that I have time again. Hope you enjoyed this chaper and if you did just hit the little nice review button…please? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Magnus Pov**

We stepped out of the car and walked towards two huge silver elevator doors that distorted my reflection and made me look fat. I didn't like the elevator, and neither did my ego. Alec pressed the button with an arrow pointing at the ceiling that turned a rich blue as did a small light over the two metallic doors. Sebastian took Alec's hand and started to play with his fingers. I saw that Sebastian was wearing a thick golden ring. Automatically I looked to see if I saw it on Alec's finger as well, but to my relief I didn't find a matching one there. I let out a breath and rubbed my sweaty hands on my black jeans. Alec looked at me and smiled. This is bad. I gulped unable to say anything as I looked into his turquoise eyes and jumped a little when a melodic '_cling_' let us know that the elevator was here. The door opened sliding to the sides and I stepped in the biggest lift I have ever seen. And I have been to IKEA before, let me tell you. The walls were a calm dark green and there were two baroque looking chairs, all in silver and a little tea table also in a dark grey. One wall was completely covered by a huge mirror that had little LED lights on the top and bottom making me look famous and pretty attractive. My skin seemed darker in comparison to Alec's and Sebastian's and my eyes looked glorious with the coal black eyeliner. Man, I _did_ look good.

"I see you like the elevator?" said Alec and chuckled lightly. His hand still being held by Sebastian's bigger one. I turned to them again and grinned.

"In my life, I have never seen an elevator like that"

At my words Sebastian smiled and Alec laughed. His nose got all wrinkled up and it looked so fucking cute that I understood now why I kissed him. I'd do it all over again if there wouldn't be _the_ problem.

"I won't get too used to it, though" I reassured them and myself.

"You can stay as long as you wish" said Sebastian and I nodded gratefully.

The seconds felt like minutes in the silence that crowded the 'little' room. Alec was looking at the ground and Sebastian and me were looking at Alec. Awkward.

After a few more seconds of silence Alec said: "What do you want for dinner?"

He was looking up at Sebastian. The blond haired man looked at me inquiringly with raised eyebrows. Under the light of the LED his eyes looked even darker than usual.

"Mr. Bane?"

"Please call me Magnus" I said, tired of hearing everybody call me that. It was usual to be called by something other than your 'normal' name when working for a clan that powerful. Raphael Condori was not called for nothing The Doctor I guessed.

"Your name is Magnus?" asked Alec, a bit of his earlier smile still lingering in the corners and in his eyes making them sparkle and look like stars in the night. Wow, that was cheesy.

"Guilty" I answered and Alec's smile widened. Our eyes stayed looked a heartbeat too long.

"Well, Magnus, what would you like?" said Sebastian who had let go of Alec's hand and had stepped closer to the mirror to tuck at his sleeves and smooth out any wrinkles.

"I am not choosy. You pick whatever you like and I'm fine with it." I said, thinking that 'your boyfriend' wouldn't be appropriate. At that Sebastian turned around and grinned but there was no joy in his face.

"C'mon Magnus, a man has to have an opinion. Would you say 'I'm not choosy' if I were to ask you which man to kill?"

My breath got caught in my lungs, trapped by a big and hairy spider that wanted nothing more than to devour me. I swallowed hard and blinked a few times. I was shocked.

"I think in this extreme and rare situation I would indeed have an opinion with reasonable arguments. But seeing that I am only a polite guest at your house, I'd like to stay impartial."

Sebastian's grin got only bigger and he started laughing like a crazy person. I looked at Alec who had fallen totally silent and was looking, again, at the ground like this wasn't any of his business. At this moment the elevator door opened and Sebastian stopped laughing as abruptly as he had started. He was the first to step out, followed by Alec and me.

All the thoughts about Sebastian, the mafia, my mother, the incident…all of them were erased from my mind as I looked upon the truly breathtaking scenery before my eyes.

I saw NYC at night, the whole city at my feet. The sky was pitch- black and the impressive skyscrapers were only distinguishable by the light that poured out of the various little windows that looked like diamonds. I saw cars, street lights, an airplane and far , far away at the horizon a little dark blue, telling the city that morning was soon to come. I took my eyes away from the amazing view and looked around the luxurious pent house. Everything was kept in white and silver, a few blue touches here and there. The furniture looked more expensive than all of my belongings together and the room stretched out before me like a never ending dessert. I was standing in the living room, there was a huge L formed white leather couch and two little silver tables at the side. A flat screen TV, which looked bigger than my flat and loads of pricy photographs decorated the white and silver walls. On many of them as I noticed, was Alec. Sometimes with Sebastian, but most of the time he posed before the camera alone. He looked gorgeous. The ones in black and white were not as beautiful though, no blue eyes. The floor was covered by a fluffy white carpet. How somehow wanted a white floor of all things was a riddle to me. I turned around and heard Alec and Sebastian in the kitchen. I stepped in the room and saw pretty much the same thing as before: white, silver, a bit of green in this room, luxury. I hoped that the whole flat would look like that. Sebastian was seated on one of the transparent chairs that were placed around the long white wooden table which could fit approximately 12 people. Alec was standing in front of the tall double doors of the fridge looking inside of it like it was holding the answers to all his prayers. If it did, than I should definitely take a look in the fridge as well.

"Do you like the flat?" asked Sebastian and I turned around to give him a perfect smile.

"You call that a flat? Just a flat?" I asked incredulously.

"What would you call it?" he inquired and I raised my eyebrows. These people have more money than Clinton.

"A mansion or Wonderland"

Sebastian chuckled and tapped with his hand on the chair beside him.

"Sit down Magnus; I'm sure you're tired"

I was, but on the other hand I felt bad for letting Alec do all the work. Sebastian must have seen my internal battle, because he rolled his eyes and said: "You are a guest. We won't make you do any work, don't feel bad about it."

With a sigh and still not convinced I took a seat beside the Boss. Meanwhile Alec was still rummaging through the cupboards to find something to eat. He bent down and my mouth was already watering. Gosh I was hungry. He stood up again and said: "I can make a salad and a steak it you want" he offered looking at Sebastian and me. I just nodded but Sebastian said in a bored voice:" Don't we have anything else? I'm sick of eating your boring food"

First I wondered why someone so rich and powerful should have to dirty their own hands to prepare something so mundane such as food. Second I wondered if Sebastian was always so moody and last but not in the least bit least, I wondered how it would feel to touch Alec's ass. Oh, God.

"But you haven't eaten steak in a week, Seb" Alec said innocently. In his hand he was holding a cucumber which made loads of images flow through my head. Sebastian just looked up and said in a dead serious voice: "I said I don't want to eat steak."

Alec nodded silently and said: "Well, what else can I do? You fired our cook and I didn't have time to go buy groceries so now all we have is pasta, rice and steak."

Sebastian's monotone voice rang in my ear as he spoke up again, this time a bit louder.

"Make rice then" he said and Alec nodded, "and make sure to buy those groceries tomorrow, understood?"

I could have cut the tension with a knife. I didn't know if that was their usual dinner, but hell, it wasn't fun.

"And get me something to drink while you're at it" ordered Sebastian and looked at me "do you want a beer?"

My throat dry, my lips split, my voice gone, I agreed with a short nod. Alec mumbled a tiny 'yes' and bent down again to get the beers. He put them on the table and started preparing the rice and a bowl full of salad.

"So, what is wrong with a steak?" I asked and Seb snorted.

"Ask Alec, he is the vegetarian"

I saw Alec's shoulder tense as he turned around toward us to heat up the water. The kitchen had an isle in the middle that separated the kitchen wall and the table where we were sitting at.

"You are?" I asked the blue eyed boy which just gave me a quick nod, not once raising his eyes to meet mine. "Why?"

At that the Boss started to laugh again and I swear to God that this guy is a bit bipolar. First the stunt in the elevator, now the whole 'I'm a diva and I don't eat steaks like humans do'. What was up with that?

"Yeah Alec…why?" he said and it sounded like a mockery in my ears and I had lots of experience with those. The boy shrugged but kept his eyes on the bowl in front of him that was slowly filling. Suddenly Sebastian got up in a swift movement and strode to Alec, who actually seemed scared. Sebastian took his slender wrists in his hands and shouted: "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

I felt the muscles in my body tense, my nerves screaming, my brain working at a high speed. I got goosebumps all over my skin and all I saw was Alec's frightened face. But all I felt inside of me never showed on the outside. I was still sitting, I was still breathing and I was still watching the scene as if I wasn't even part of it. I was just the actor that needed to fill in for a sick friend at the stage and had no idea how to read a Russian script. Man, I felt weird.

Alec's eyes had widened as Sebastian took his wrists brutally, but now they were pressed closed as though he was afraid to open them and see that it wasn't a nightmare after all. Sebastian was looking down at Alec with a mixture of boredom and disgust which made my mind scream in agony.

And as suddenly as Sebastian had walked up to Alec, as suddenly he let him go only  
to take him in his arms and nearly squeezing him to death. Alec remained motionless and silent like a beautiful statue carved out of ice. I saw Alec's hair move when Sebastian sighed, his nose pressed into his raven locks.

"I'm sorry, darling. It has been a long day, sorry, so sorry…"

The mumbled words that left Sebastian's mouth didn't make sense to me. The only thing that seemed reasonable right now was to kill and torture Sebastian right on the spot. Too bad that couldn't be done.

I remained as silent as Alec, still sitting, still breathing…

The alarm clock rung and they disentangled. Alec's face had no tears, no blush, no…nothing.

"Don't worry Seb, it's all right" his voice sounding even weak and scared to me. Sebastian nodded, giving him a peck on the lips and sitting down next to me again. He rubbed his eyes with his hands and when he looked at me again he said: "Sorry Magnus, I just had a couple of stressful days"

I didn't say anything. I didn't even know if I was supposed to say anything so I just sat there and watched Alec cook like a marionette.

"What time is it?" asked Alec in a dead voice and Sebastian looked at his golden Rolex and answered:" It's a quarter to too three"

Alec nodded and after a few minutes of waiting with an empty stomach and a lukewarm beer in my hand, Alec set the table and feed us. I wanted to help myself to a good plate of rice with garlic and butter sauce, when Alec snatched my plated away and did it himself.

"Is that enough or would you like more rice?" he asked in his sweat voice that made the angels jealous.

"No, that's great thank you very much" I said, feeling a bit idiotic for being so formal. Alec took Sebastian's plate and asked him the same thing.

"No, it's enough" No 'thanks' no 'good job'. He was definitely bipolar.

Finally Alec had his plate in front of him and we started eating. I think that in all my life I have never had such a meal. I was sitting in one of the most amazing flats, with The Boss of The Morgenstern mafia and his boyfriend, eating dinner at three o'clock in the morning. So proud mom.

"Are you having a meeting tomorrow?" Alec asked probably referring to today. Sebastian nodded and I felt my body tensing. It would be interesting to see with who I'll be working with in the next months or even years.

"At what time?" asked Alec. I kept silent. Sebastian swallowed the food and said: " Four in the afternoon, why?"

"Because I wanted to go buy Christmas gifts" he said and smiled sweetly. Sebastian never returned it, already more rice in his mouth.

"Gifts? For who?" he said skeptically, his blond eyebrows raised.

"For you, for my sister, for my brother, for Jace and Jordan, f-"

"Jace?" said Sebastian and this time I could empathize with the light disgust showing on his face. I didn't like the blondie either.

"Yes. He is important to me, so I'm getting him gifts"

Sebastian growled and shrugged.

"Alright. Well I want you to be there for the meeting so go early." Was the only thing he said before getting up, leaving the table and his dirty dished behind.

Alec sighed and I did too, at the same time. The blue eyed boy looked at me and we both smiled. He blushed a bit and said then:" Well, it's pretty late…or early. How about I show you were you 'll be sleeping?"

"That would be nice, thanks"

Alec nodded and collected the dirty dishes, nearly shouting 'No!' when I wanted to help him.

"I'll do it tomorrow, let's just get some sleep now."

That sounded good enough for me so I followed him through the white hallway, my shoes sinking in the fluffy carpet every step I took. The walls were, like in the living room, decorated with pictures and beautiful and expensive looking paintings. We came to a halt in front of a white door with a beautiful antique silver handle. Alec pushed the door open and the smell of vanilla hit me again. The room was very big, the ceiling very high, so far away that I thought I would be sleeping directly under the stars. One wall was painted in a light grey –silver color while the other two were just windows, presenting me New York City as it was beginning to wake up. There was a big white modern closet with milky glass doors. The closet seemed empty, but when Alec opened it I saw that there were blankets and bed linen at the very top. I looked at the king –sized bed which had loads of cushions in different shades of silver and green. The blanket was the same, silver with dark green stripes. The only lights were two small lamps on the tables at each side of the bed and the huge diamond chandelier that hung proudly from the ceiling. I heard a weird noise and turned around to see Alec on his tiptoes still in front of the tall closet, struggling to get an additional blanked down. He wasn't much shorter than me, but enough to make it impossible for him to reach the blankets. I stepped forward and stood beside him, reaching out to grab the blankets without much effort. I handed him the fluffy green blanket with a smile and he blushed crimson red. It was delicious. We were standing so close that I could smell his perfume and notice his heart race.

"Thanks" he said, quickly stepping away from me. Damn.

"Well, if there is anything else that you need or that I can help you with then just tell me." He said and smiled at me, his blush still coloring his high cheekbones.

"Well I don't have anything to sleep in for starters…all my clothes are in Brooklyn."

Alec thought about that for a moment before disappearing. Before I could even open my mouth to call him back, he reemerged, a pair of loose white pajama pants and a green shirt in his hands. Gosh, in this house everything matched.

"They are Sebastian's. Mine wouldn't fit you"

I nodded and smiled gratefully although the prospect of wearing Sebastian's clothes was not one that exited me.

"If you want to shower in the morn …later" he said "the bathroom is just around the corner. It's your own bathroom, and there are all the products already."

"Okay. Thank you Alec" I said and looked into his sapphire eyes.

"It's nothing" He said and shrugged turning around and as he was about to leave I said:"And sorry for…you know…"

Alec blushed and disappeared without another word leaving me alone to enjoy the view and the bed, though sadly alone.

I opened my eyes at nine o'clock in the morning and even though I had only slept seven hours I felt refreshed and good. The night had been…lonely. But waking up to New York was definitely a plus point. I stretched my arms and yawned. Okay, so I wasn't feeling _that_ fresh. My bare feet touched the fluffy white carpet and I suddenly knew why someone would chose to have it in his house. It was a really nice feeling and I wasn't shivering from the cold floor like I would've done back in Washington DC. There my flat that I had shared with Jem hadn't had a fluffy carpet to warm our feet in the morning. Thinking about Jem drove a stake through my heart. Ridding myself from those disturbing thoughts I shook my head and went in the bathroom. There the walls were a white marble, just like the sink and the shower and Jacuzzi that sat in the corner like a king. I was a bit too overwhelmed with the whole luxury that I had totally forgotten to get a towel with me. Shit. I had already put my clothes on the toilet seat and was standing naked in front of the mirror. Shit. Well, I had two options, get dressed again and walk the two feet that it'd take to get back to the bedroom, or risk it. Being Magnus Bane I thought that the second option was a bit more tempting. I opened the door of the bathroom and peeked outside the dark hallway. Surely no one would be even up at this hour in the morning. Seeing the deserted corridor I stepped outside the bathroom and quickly opened my bedroom door. I let out a breath and picked up the white clean towel to put it around my waist. With my torso naked I stepped out again and came face to face with a petrified Alec. His nose was at the height of my neck and I felt his breath tickling and lingering on my exposed skin. The heat he radiated made me want to embrace him, but I stopped myself and watched Alec jump away, his face resembling an angry tomato.

"I-I-I'm so-so sorry" he choked on his own words and it was the most adorable thing I have seen in a long time. I felt his eyes traveling down the length of my body and his face getting even redder looking more and more like a volcano about to explode. Now _that_ wouldn't match the white and green theme.

"I didn't see you an-and I ju-just wanted to-to…ask you if you wan-wanted anything to-to…eat" he said, his voice getting lower and lower till I had to lean forward a bit to hear his mumbled words.

"Ahem…yeah, I'm fine, but thanks" I said trying to reassure him. He didn't look reassured. He nodded and nearly sprinted back to the kitchen, where I supposed he had come from.

I smiled satisfied. So I wasn't the only one that got hot –

As the warm spray of ware hit me in a delicious way I decided to better let this thought go if I didn't want a little 'problem' down there. I think I stood there all day long but when I felt my fingertips wrinkling disgustingly like an old women's I got out of the huge shower and looked at the clock on the radio. 10:23.

I got out of the bathroom, the towel around my waist. In my room I had no other option that to put on my clothes from the previous night, the black jeans clinging to my calf. The only thing that I had with me was the coal black eyeliner, which I was forever grateful for. At least I had my makeup. I put on the eyeliner and used a bit of hair gel that stood unopened in the bathroom. The smell of vanilla filled my nose and first I thought it was the gel, but when I was ready and happy with my appearance I smiled at my reflection and got out of the stuffy marble room. I made my way to the kitchen and noticed the light of the day illuminating the white and silver furniture making it look like heaven on earth.

I found Alec sitting on the white leather couch, a steaming black cup of coffee, dark blue of course with silver snowflakes around the handle, in his pale and long fingered hand. His legs were folded beneath him, the flat TV showing the news of the day. The volume was so low that I could only make out some words. I was about to ask if Alec could hear that, when he said:" I'll tell him. Yeah, I'll do that. All right Izzy, bye. Love you too, bye."

He put his diamond –studded iphone down and smiled at me, like he already knew that I was standing there.

"Good morning Magnus. Did you sleep well?" His cheeks colored a bit, obviously embarrassed about our last encounter. I chuckled and nodded :" Yeah, the bed was really comfortable."

Alec smirked and then looked more closely at me, but not at my face, but at my chest.

Alec stood up, really way too fast for a normal human being, with a shocked expression. He sat the cup down on the silver table and stood before me.

"I am so sorry. I didn't give you anything to change" he crunched his teeth and bit his lip worriedly.

"It's no proble-"

I didn't get to finish the sentence because Alec had taken my hand and dragged me to yet another room. And then my yaw hit the ground. It wasn't a simple _room_. It was heaven. The sky had fallen down and come to lie in this pent house. And I must have been dead, although I had always thought that I would go to hell, for the company of course, not heaven. But here I was, standing in a **walk-in closet. **Various white open closets were lining up on the golden walls. In one of them were all kind of shoes. From 11 carat Diamond studded sneakers over dress shoes from the house of Testoni, a fine brown alligator skin, to Luis Vuitton. With my mouth open I walked to the next closed, more shoes, then to the next, blouses over blouses all of them the finest silk. I recognized all the great brands: Prada, Gucci and Boss. Pants, long, short, black, red, green, gold… I could never tire of looking at those clothes. The last closet was filled with designer suits; I remember the one that Alec had worn last night. Different ties, and in the drawers I guess was the underwear. Well, that was hot. I turned around to see Alec, a very satisfied grin lighting up his beautiful face.

"This is…" I started but was left breathless at the sight of Alec. If this was heaven, he was God, or at least an angel.

Alec chuckled and said: "Amazing, maybe?"

I could only stand there like an idiot and nod. Alec nodded as well, the grin not leaving his face.

"Well, what can I say some prejudices about gay men are probably true. We love clothes. "

I laughed and he added:"just take what you want and wear it. The clothes on the black hangers are Sebastian's, mine are on the golden ones. I'd say you better take his because I'm a bit too short for my clothes to fit you"

I smiled and turned around looking at those beautiful clothes again, not even knowing where to start.

"I'll let you alone with your clothes" he said and left me alone in heaven.

After I had spent nearly the entire morning in the closet (a mild exaggeration, really it was just one hour. No big deal…) I had come out of it (no pun intended) with dark blue skinny jeans from D&G, a white long-sleeved shirt from Ralph Lauren and a black suit jacket with white stripes on the collar designed by Giorgio Armani. I felt like a million dollars. I put on a bit more eyeliner and was ready to start the day. I walked out of the huge room, already missing all those beautiful and expensive clothes. I made my way to the living room, but I found it empty so I walked to the kitchen and saw Sebastian and Alec. Kissing. My feet stopped dead in their tracks and I felt like an old perverted man watching a young couple kiss. I coughed way too lough for it to be normal and watched as Alec tried to jump out of Sebastian's embrace, his face red. Sebastian didn't seem the least bit embarrassed a satisfied smirk on his lips.

"Morning Magnus" he said as though he wasn't holding Alec prisoner in his muscled arms. Alec gulped and winced as Sebastian squeezed him.

"Morning boss" I said and swallowed. This was awkward. I looked at Alec who was watching his feet intently like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Well, if you're hungry just tell us what you want" Sebastian said and let Alec go, but took his hand and whispered something in his ear. His lips brushing the boy's shell making him shiver and giggle. He took his pale hand and guided it to his lips and kissed the back of it making Alec blush even more. His eyes were full of love as he watched Sebastian talk to me.

"So, what do you want?" he said. Today he was wearing black jeans, a black shirt and a (surprise!) black leather biker jacket. Alec looked like the light in person with his pale porcelain skin, his light blue jeans and clean cream –colored long sleeved shirt.

"Just a coffee, I don't really have an appetite" I answered him and Sebastian nodded looking at Alec. Without exchanging a word, Alec got to work and asked me, his back turned on me: "With milk, sugar, cream?"

I wondered why Alec was always the one preparing any kind of drink or food but decided that it was none of my business. "All of it" I answered and Alec gave me a look saying 'really?!' It was kind of funny, really. Thinking about Alec's reaction I remembered Jem that always told me that it would drive my health away. But in the end it had all come differently.

I heard the fancy coffee machine start and turned to Sebastian as his deep voice echoes through the room.

"There have been some changes. We'll have the meeting at noon…" he checked his golden Rolex and glanced back up, "which is now."

Alec swirled around and actually looked angry. It was the first time I had seen him mad. Yesterday, I can't believe that it had just been yesterday, he had looked nervous, anxious, happy, but never mad. Now his eyes resembled a not-so-nice summer day.

"But Seb, I told you that I wanted to go shopping" he said looking Sebastian straight in the eye. The blond boss just sighed like he was used to this behavior and answered in a clam voice:" I know, darling, but Mitchell and Raphael couldn't wait anymore, so…"

Alec didn't seem satisfied with this answer. "This is bullshit. I told you w-"

"Alexander!" Sebastian said, his voice roared, and Alec fell silent.

"I told you already. These are very important matters and something as unimportant as 'Christmas shopping' does not really overshadow it! So just let me do my job!" he shouted and Alec looked at the ground, his cheeks red, but not a rosy blush.

"I just thought -" he started, his voice tiny and broken.

"See, that's the problem with you. You always think and think and think. Just stop it and leave that to me, alright?!"

Alec nodded silently, still not meeting his angry magnetic dark eyes. Sebastian walked up to him and I thought that he was going to force him to look at him again, but he just pushed Alec out of the way and got my coffee for me. He poured it into a spotless white cup and handed it to me.

"Thank you" I said and before any of us could even open our mouths, the doorbell rang. Sebastian looked at Alec, but the blue eyed beauty was still not meeting his eyes, looking outside the huge window.

"Open them, will you?"

Alec nodded and walked obediently to the beeping intercom. He pushed the silver button and a juvenile voice filled the silence. The face of a young boy appeared in the little panel beside the button. He had lots of pimples and even in the small panel you could see his not –so –handsome face.

"Hey Junior, open up!" he shouted and Alec screwed up his face.

"Hey" was the only thing he said and pushed another silver button to open them.

"Thanks" said Sebastian drily and walked past Alec who was still standing there like he was rooted to the ground. I approached him carefully, as though approaching a wild encaged animal. Before I could touch him he turned around and recoiled, a scared expression on his face.

"Don't do that. Don't touch me." He said rapidly and disappeared into the dark hallway and into the last door left. I was shocked but I didn't have time to try to process this, because a lot of voices suddenly reached my ears. I walked in the living room seeing eight men standing in the room. All of them had similar clothes on as Sebastian, just not as expensive. The only one I knew was Raphael Condori that looked just like last night. White clothes, weird smile. Hook was not one of the men even though I knew for sure he was a Capo. Sebastian though only greeted Raphael and two other guys, the rest of them he ignored, not even a nod, nothing.

"Magnus, this is Mitchell Rose, or as we call him 'Rose'" Sebastian said and I shook hands with the small and choppy man that had to be the one I was to replace. He had a little dark mustache on his upper lip and a few sweat pearls had formed around it. I took his sweaty hand and resisted the urge to wipe off my hands on my jeans. It was just way too expensive for that.

"He is the one in control of drugs right now, but as we discussed yesterday, Rose would like to retire" said Sebastian and I noticed the same thing I had noticed yesterday. All the men observing the Boss as though he were a furious animal ready cut their heads off.

"Nice meeting you, sir" I said again and Rose smiled at me.

"This is Eric Green, just call him E." said Sebastian and I shook hands with the skinny, unhealthy –looking kid that didn't look older than Alec but seemed so different at the same time.

"Hello Magnus. I am the one in charge of the gambling" he said, his voice and his demeanor reminding me of a rat.

"Nice to meet you" I responded and took my hand away as fast as possible from his bony grip. He had disheveled light brown hair and small button eyes that reminded me of an insect. He was shorter than me and Sebastian which was normal given our impressive height.

"Those are soldiers. From left to right" Sebastian said and pointed at the soldier when he said his name. "John, Francis, Chen, Cameron and Wal ". The last one looked like real Scottish soldier from _Braveheart_. I greeted them all with a short nod and then looked at Sebastian as he began talking again.

"Let's go sit down, shall we?"

I thought that all of them would be following us, but only the skinny kid and Rose went with us, Doctor Condori and Sebastian led the way. I walked behind them wondering where Alec was, when Raphael asked for me: "Where is our lovely Alexander today?"

"Sulking" was the only thing Sebastian said about his boyfriend.

We walked down the hallway in yet another room that looked like I expected. Huge window with a breathtaking view over NYC, a long white wooden table, silver chairs and paintings and a lovely photograph of Sebastian holding Alec in his arms. Fucking Jealousy.

"Take a seat" Sebastian sat down on the head of the table while I took a seat beside Rose. Across me were sitting Eric and Doctor Condori, both of them smiling at the photograph.

"So" started Sebastian "I would like to discuss the m-"

He was interrupted by the door opening and revealing Alec, with bloodshot and red puffy eyes. He was silent for a second before he croaked:" I'm sorry I'm late."

Sebastian just looked at him with a stiff expression on his face. Raphael stood up and wanted to take Alec's hand, but the boy recoiled like he had been burned. The disappointment on the Doctors face was clearly visible. Alec swallowed and said a tiny 'hello' to the rest of us. He didn't look at either of us in the face.

"You know what, I think I want to let the men see something." Sebastian stood up suddenly still looking at Alec, a murderous spark in his eyes. The beast was back and it had found its prey. I just didn't like that it was my Alec. Wait…when did I start to think of him as 'my' anything? Man, this was just bull.

"But boss, we just sat down and -"

"Let's go." He said and opened the door, leaving us to follow him. I turned to Alec and whispered low enough so that Rose wouldn't hear it.

"Are you alright?"

"I did what I had to do" was all he said, looking at the ground as if afraid of falling.

"What?Alec?" I said, trying to make sense of those words that he kept mumbling under his breath like a crazy person. I didn't dare to touch him again after that fiasco in the kitchen.

We stepped in the white living room. This time I saw more men, all in black or grey tones. I also recognized Jace (urgh…) and Jordan amongst the ones that had arrived.

Sebastian got their attention immediately, their bodies tensing, and their minds sharpening.

"Listen up everyone. You saw what I do to those you disrespect me. You saw what happened to Hook" his voice got me shivering all over. I saw Jace looking intently at Alec who was standing beside me, his head bowed like a dying lily on a broken stem.

"Well, it seems as though some of you" and at that he glanced at Alec and that send shivers down my spine "didn't learn the lesson yet."

The suddenly Sebastian was standing in front of Alec and punched him in the jaw. There were no screams, there were no shouts, and there was no movement except the widening of our eyes. Alec had fallen on the ground, lying there motionless, only covering his head with his arms.

Sebastian kicked him in the rips repeatedly and every time he did, he choked out a word.

"You. Are. Not. To. Disrespect. Me .You Piece. Of. Shit." Alec didn't try to fight back. Then Jace and Jordan sprinted forward and dragged Sebastian away from the pitiful creature lying on the ground in a small puddle of blood. The red looked grotesque against the white fluffy carpet and I couldn't move. Or wouldn't I because I knew what I had to lose if I were to stand up for Alec. There was just too much at stake for me, I couldn't …No, this wasn't my fight. If I had to play dirty to get where I wanted to be, I sure as hell would.

Sebastian was still shouting but I saw it all in slow-mo.

"Fucking piece of trash, I'm gonna kill you!" screamed Sebastian and four men had to hold him down at once.

_The beast was out of his cage. _

**A/N: Hello, hello, hello! Thank you for reading this if you have (which I hope you did) and PLEASE leave a review, please! The next chapter will be up on Monday, until then, Patience !**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alec PoV**

I didn't know why I ever liked the smell of vanilla. It smelled cheap and I hated it. I was lying in my bed, in my room that was felt familiar to me. I felt the soft mattress beneath me, the comfortable pillow where my head was resting on.

Often people say that if you have lived through a traumatic experience you will never be the same as before. But, who defined 'traumatic'? Was is losing your best friend or nearly burning to death? I didn't know, I didn't think I ever would. I didn't know if the experiences I had had to deal with would be considered 'traumatic'. Maybe they were normal, maybe something like that happened to all of us. I didn't feel pity for others so why should they pity me. But even though I was thinking that, a tiny voice in the back of my mind screamed 'liar, liar' over and over again. I tried to roll to the side but soon stopped, feeling the huge boot- formed bruise on my rips screaming out in pain. I sighed. Some people, well most people really, didn't understand me. They don't get why I live life the way I do, why I am going out with a man that seems to have sold his soul to the devil. I know, because most of them ask me. 'Why don't you leave him, why don't you move out, why don't you…' I always have to control myself not shout at them "Why don't you shove it up your ass?"

I took a deep breath and tried to open my eyes. I knew someone was watching me. Was it Seb? Surely not, he said that he was going to kill me so why would he suddenly be sitting beside me. Maybe it was Magnus?

At the thought of him I felt my heart ache. Those beautiful eyes, those lips, the kiss…

But I couldn't and not only for the obvious reasons. There were more important things than to feel attracted to someone. Already guessing who it might be I slowly opened my eyes, blinking a few times as if waking up just now. I was so tired of acting out this role.

As I turned my head to the side I saw Jace sitting beside me, his eyes finding mine in seconds. He didn't smile, he didn't look concerned, and he didn't look close to tears. He never did. It had always been like this with Jace.

We didn't share long conversations about our problems or dreams; we just looked at each other and _understood_. It was so simple, yet so uncommon. My hand went up to rub my eyes and Jace nodded.

"I see you can move again?" he said and I just kept looking at him, like I wanted him to _really_ understand. For once, I wanted Jace to say something, to ask me who I really was.

Instead I only nodded.

As the silence stretched out between us like a dusty carpet I tried to sit up, my rips protesting just a bit.

"I'm fine" I said, even though he hadn't asked.

"Yeah" was the only answer I got. I looked around the room I shared with Seb. Blue, silver, white. My sister used to say that this house was so full of secrets, that it was normal that there was no room for color. She had been right, even more than she could have imagined. I was lying in the middle of the king-sized bed, a beautiful view over New York right in front of me.

"What day is it?" I asked Jace finally. He looked up from his lap and checked his golden watch.

"The 16 of December" he answered and I nodded. Today was the day I was going to see my parents. Just like every child, I as well, had the obligation to go and see my parents at least once a month. On every 16th I went to see the part of my family that was still here in NY and would always be.

"Your parents?" Jace said, not looking at me. I nodded anyway, he already knew the answer.

I tried to sit up and winced a bit but just clenched my teeth together and got out of bed, the fluffy white carpet tickling my bare feet.

"Should I help you?" he said but I only shook my head. I would do this alone like I do everything. Alone.

I limped to the bathroom as if in slow –motion and looked at the shower. I thought about taking a quick one, but I had to meet my mother at 16:30 sharp. If I didn't come at exactly that time she would just spend the whole meeting sulking. My father was the patient one, the one that would always wait for me. I brushed my teeth, combed my disheveled raven hair and tried to avoid looking in the mirror. I knew the bruise that Sebastian's fist had left on my jaw was still a rich blue, but that was not the only reason. I hated liars and when I looked in the mirror I saw one. Every day. It was repulsing. I got out of the bathroom and went to our huge walk in closet. I decided to put on some dark blue jeans with my favorite leather jacket, a grey shirt underneath it. Everything was made out of the best material.

I took my keys, left my dead iPhone and hoped Jace had his charged. I walked to the elevator expecting to find Jace already waiting for me, but only saw a note on the shiny silver doors.

_Don't go out without Jace and Jordan. I will be back at four. Seb_

I kept looking at the fast scribbled note and after thinking about it for a few seconds I decided to screw Sebastian and his stupid orders. He had no idea.

I needed to see my parents and he knew that, so what was all that shit about anyway? I tore the note in pieces and let them fall on the carpet like snowflakes over the white winter landscape. I drew in a breath and looked around the apartment. God, how I hated this place and the people that I had to deal with.

"Jace!" I shouted and heard in echo around the vast room. I saw his golden hair and his perfect face appear through the door.

"All set?" he asked and when I nodded he pushed the small silver button that lit up a bright blue color.

"No flowers?" he asked me with his eyebrows raised to his hairline. I shook my head.

"Why?" Jace looked out of the window, his foot tapping an unknown melody on the carpet.

"I didn't get the chance to buy any" I said and Jace looked me in the eyes.

"You could have told me and I would have gotten you some."

"Yeah." Was the only thing I said, without much enthusiasm and Jace just shook his head looking down at the floor.

The small noise of the elevator broke our silence and we both stepped in the luxurious room. I had to smile a bit thinking about Magnus and the first time he had been in here. Magnus. I wasn't even going to go there. He was so off limits that I couldn't even look at him. I did it anyway and I dreamed about him. It was horribly cheesy.

"Where is Seb?" I asked instead.

"I think he went to see the Doctor" he said and winked at me. I didn't smile.

"Did he come see me?" I wanted to know if Seb had been there. Just one moment would have been enough to let me think I wasn't as lonely as I felt.

"No" said Jace and the truth hit me. I was nothing to him.

"Do you think he will?"

"Come see you?"

"Yes"

Jace shrugged and pulled the corners of his mouth down.

"I guess. Why?"

"Just asking."

That was the last thing I said before we got out of the elevator, Jace walking beside me like a geriatric nurse. Me being the old hag of course.

"Go get the car I'll wait here" I said, tired of walking already. My breath was coming out as though I had just run a marathon and lost to an _old hag_. Jace didn't even turn around or nod, he just fastened his pace disappearing into the darkness of the underground garage. I stopped beside a cement pillar and leaned heavily against it. Three days had gone by since Seb had punched me into unconsciousness. Three days of blissful peace and oblivion. Sadly that was over now, reality punching me just as hard.

I heard the engine buzz and wanted to guess which car he had picked but I didn't have time, because a silver Ferrari FF whizzed around the corner and came to a halt in front of me. I had to smile; I should have guessed Jace would pick this one. I opened the cold metallic door and tied to get in without it hurting too much. I failed miserably.

"Shit!" I winced and my arms held my ribcage like a mother a child.

"Are you alright?" said Jace and I only nodded. I've had worse. The interior of the sport car was a rich dark brown leather. The steering wheel was black, the horse in front of a yellow background in the middle of the wheel, making it pretty clear which brand it was. This car was one of my favorites Seb owned. Not because the other ones were ugly or cheap, but because I had had the best times in this car. The most beautiful memories were brought to live by the smell of leather and speed. I took a deep breath and nodded.

In a few seconds Jace had driven the car outside the garage, the tinted windows allowing us to see outside but other people not inside. That was pretty much my life when I thought about it. Always alone with my own secrets to bear.

"Do you want some music?" said Jace and without awaiting my answer he let Jay –Zs' 'Forever Young' ring through my ears. I leaned back, relaxing and just trying to be myself. Just for a few seconds, be the Alec Lightwood I had been with 16. The one that was long gone.

_Forever young, I wanna be forever young. Do you really want to live forever? Forever and ever_

_ Forever young I wanna be forever young. Do you really want to live forever? Forever, forever_

I still remembered him. He had been a nice boy, very shy, blushing like a he wanted to put up a new record, always wearing those hideous clothes, the untidy hair. He had been a looser, really, but at least he had been himself. He had looked at himself in the mirror and thought that he didn't understand why someone like Sebastian Morgenstern would be interested in him. But he had looked in the mirror. I was too ashamed to do that.

"C'mon old lady! You're moving backwards, that's how slow you are!" I jumped a little at Jace's remark, opening my eyes and seeing an old lady with a shopping cart crossing the street like I would with my bruised rips. She looked at Jace with venom but didn't walk any faster.

Jace threw his hands up in the air, clearly frustrated and honked.

"A bit faster! Please" he said with such a pitiful voice that I actually chuckled. Jace turned to look at me, his eyebrows raised and a light smile on his lips.

"What are you laughing at, huh?" he said, trying to sound scolding but failing. I only shook my head and Jace put his foot on the gas. I watched the world fly away beside us, taunting us to get lost in it.

"Where to first?" asked me Jace and I said: "To her"

I saw him nodding and he turned left at the next light. We drove into a small parking lot where only a few old cars were parked. Jace turned off the music and looked at me when the Ferrari had quietened beneath our feet.

"I'll stay here." He said and I nodded. I knew that. I went to open the door but Jace got out of the car and walked around it to get it for me. I smiled a true one for once.

"What a gentleman." I said and he just laughed.

"Actually I just wanted to speed up the process of getting you out of the car. So I thought maybe with a bit of assistance I would have the baby all to myself." The ass even had the nerve to grin. Bastard.

I shook my head but took his hand gratefully, my ribs still not treating me very nicely. Jace pulled me out and I had to grab his shoulder to not fall right back in. I closed my eyes for a second and when I opened them the dizziness was gone.

"Okay?" he asked and I nodded silently. I steadied myself and began walking towards the small entrance of the grey building that smelled like Chinese takeout. After a few seconds I felt a hand on my elbow, helping me walk faster. I looked up and found Jace's smiling face hovering beside me.

"What? Miss me already?" I asked him and he just kept grinning.

"Not really. I just felt pity for you old man so I decided to help you up those big and dangerous steps."

I growled and rolled my eyes at him but he ignored me.

"And I wanted to say hello to good old Maryse." I stopped dead in my tracks, all humor gone.

"What?" said Jace innocently but I kept looking at him like a stern mother. Jace sighed and took his hand away.

"I miss her too, okay?" he said and his voice sounded suddenly juvenile again. Suddenly he sounded like the old Jace, the one I met on a rainy night at a bus stop. I looked at the ground and didn't reply. What was there to say anyway?

I heard Jace sigh and his leaving footsteps, now I was alone and lonely again. I climbed up the stony steps by myself and pushed the old wooden door open. I stood in the tiny room that was such a contrast to the building I had left earlier. The rooms' walls were bare; some of them decorated with ugly and distasteful gratifies showing Marihuana or boobs. Very nice. The little plastic chairs had also seen better days and the small windows were spotted with round white patches which looked a lot like bird pup. I walked up to the rundown reception, if you could call it that, and waited for someone to let me see my mom. After a few seconds of breathing in the smell of day old frying oil I saw a middle aged woman come through one of the doors that looked like it would fall off its hinges in a second. She had a pretty round face, big dark eyes and a lovely mouth.

"Alexander Lightwood, right?" she said and I nodded. It was normal that they knew me after all those years of coming in here. I still didn't know what her name was though. Something like Susi, Susanna or Su-

"Your mother will be delighted to see you" she said and I stopped trying to figure her name out and just followed her down the dark and decayed hallway. Some light bulbs were flickering dangerously as we walked past, letting me feel as though I was in a bad horror movie. The woman came to a halt in front of a shabby door at the right and knocked twice before saying in a loud voice: "Mrs. Lightwood? May I come in?"

I looked at her pretty face as she smiled at me and opened the door after hearing a weak 'yes'. I gulped and stepped through the door, followed by S…- whatever. The room was stinky and stuffy; the only light came through the dirty window where some idiots had carved in a joint, with their keys probably. The bed was small enough to seem like a bench, but when I saw my gaunt mother sitting on it all my thoughts left me. I had only eyes for her.

"You have a visitor Mrs. Lightwood" The woman said and her friendliness never disappearing. How could you be so nice when working in a place like this, everyday? I shook my head and observed as my mother started to scratch her skin on her wrist till it was red. Her once blue eye, aflame with an undying and never yielding power were now sunken in and full of confusion. The same way Alec Lightwood had disappeared, the same way Maryse's spirit had left her. She was a shadow of herself, a tiny part of the woman she once was. I didn't pity her though. I didn't pity anyone.

"A visitor?" she said, looking around the tiny room as though searching for someone other than myself. I stepped up to her and sat beside her on the bed. I took her small and cold hands in mine but she never looked me in the eyes. And I didn't blame her. How could she?

"Mom, it's me." I said, looking into her expressionless gray eyes. But she didn't look back.

"Has she had her medicine?" I asked instead not wanting the friendly woman to see me and my mother like this. I didn't turn to look at her, just kept my eyes on my mother's face.

"Yes, at three" she said. I checked my Hermes watch. It was already four thirty.

"Okay" I answered and when I didn't see her leaving I turned around and said: "You can go now, we'll be fine."

The woman took one last glance at my mother and nodded, closing the door behind her. I let out a breath and turned to my mother again. She was very lean, almost only skin and bones. Underneath her eyes were heavy purple bags and her once perfect white skin was wrinkly and yellow like some old piece of parchment. She drew her hands away and I sighed.

"Mom, it's me, your son. Don't you remember?" I asked but my mother stared vacantly into space. It was the same as always but this time I felt even more miserable.

"Mom, look at me, please" I said, pleading like the child I was when I sat in front of my mother.

"Do you know when Robert is coming?" she said, her voice brittle and fragile like a whisper in the wind.

I felt my eyes begin to water. I couldn't do this. I couldn't tell her _again_. I got off from the bed and kneeled in front of her, my hands on her small thighs.

"Mom" I started and felt my voice break "dad is not coming back"

I had to gulp. This was too much.

"Do you know when Robert is coming?" she repeated and I shook my head, bowing like the life was slowly leaving me, letting me bleed to death in front of my own mother.

"No" I said not wanting to say it again. I couldn't, I just couldn't.

Every time I went to see my mother she had gotten worse. It started with the typical 'where did I leave my keys?' , but ended in this. I couldn't.

"Mom, I talked to Izzy a few days ago" I said, hating the look on her face. Hating her for leaving me alone with my sister and my little brother. Who was she to just abandon us when we most needed her? I hated her, with every nerve of me, ever breath she took was one too much for my liking and every time she looked at me with those dead eyes I wanted nothing more than to beat her to death. To see her suffer like we had to suffer, to make her feel what I felt all those years ago and still felt now. I wanted to make her regret her decisions, make her apologize; make her hate herself for what she did to us.

But at the same time I couldn't. I just had to come here every 16th of every month and let her glance at me without seeing anything. I didn't even know why I came to see her. I guess I just felt guilty myself, for betraying my family, my friends and most of all, myself. I guess I didn't hate my mother. I just hated myself. I hated myself so much that sometimes I forgot to play my role. Sometime I just lived.

My thoughts were interrupted by my mother's voice, like a lovely dead melody ringing in my ears making me go numb with pain.

"Do you know when Robert is coming" she said again and I just sat there with tears in my eyes, hating the fact that I couldn't just tear myself apart like a piece of paper. I just sat there, my hands on my mother's thighs and my tears rolling down my cheeks. I didn't know why I cried, I guess I just did it to do _something_. I cried away the pain, the memories of my father singing in the kitchen, the time when Izzy helped my mother cook for the first time, the time in the hospital when I first held my baby brother, the time when everything was perfect. I cried for myself, for the Alec Lightwood that was gone now, gone forever. I was dead, just as dead as my mother was. And I cried and cried till I could not cry anymore. I thought about Izzy and Jace, Max and Robert and just sat there and let the tears stream down my face. How did everything end up like this? Was it my fault? I didn't know and I hoped I never would. I felt my mother's hand on my head, pressing my face down on her night gown. She still smelled like the Maryse that was now gone.

"Why are you crying boy?" I heard her ask me, but I just shook my head and she said:" Do you miss Robert as well? He has been gone for a long time."

I didn't reply. I sat there like a child and let my dead mother hold me.

We sat in silence for what felt like hours and I opened my eyes when I heard a small knock on the door.

"Mr. Lightwood, can I come in?"

"Yes" I said, my voice sounding broken and afraid. I surely had puffy red eyes but I didn't care anymore. Nothing mattered.

I saw the door opening and the woman appearing in front of us. She smiled at me like I was some kind of angel, when really all I was, was a coward.

"Visiting hours are over, Mr. Lightwood, I am sorry."

I nodded and stood up, I couldn't feel my legs anymore and my ribs were hurting like hell. I winced and felt dizzy. I grabbed the edge of the small table to steady myself and nodded again.

"Alright. I'll say my goodbyes." The woman disappeared again and I leaned down to kiss my mother goodbye. I kissed her front and took her chin lightly to make her look at me.

"I'll be back, okay mom. I'll come back in a month." I said, telling myself more than her. She didn't react to my words and when I closed the door I heard her say:" Do you know when Robert is coming?"

I took a breath outside the door and walked up to the reception again, checking my expensive watch again. It was six already. I wondered what Jace had been doing all this time, flirting with some girl probably. I thanked Susi (I finally remembered!) and walked out of the grey building, the cold winter night making me shiver. I pulled my jacket closer to my body and began descending the stairs. I walked to the parking lot to find it completely empty. Shit. Where the hell was Jace. He knew how long I stayed with my mom. He should be here by now. I looked around the corner, but there was no Jace and no Ferrari. I put my hand in my pocket searching for my iPhone, but remembering that it was lying dead in my room. I sighed. The wind was blowing and the light was slowly fading away, letting me shiver. My legs hurt, my ribs were screaming at me to find some place warm to sit the hell down, but I needed to find Jace. Maybe I could walk to a bus stop and take the next one going to Manhattan, but with my looks, my expensive clothes and still bruising rips I didn't think that was such a good idea. I couldn't even walk properly how was I supposed to defend myself when it came to it? I was sure that the Bonato family had its spies here as well. I sighed again and started cursing Jace for his recklessness. Suddenly I heard someone in the darkness of the parking lot. I knew there were at least four men, all talking very quickly in Italian and approaching me rapidly. I had two options. One, just stand here and hope that they were not from the Bonato family, or hide. Me, being the coward that I am liked the second option a lot better. The question was just, where to hide. There were some bushes on the side of the lot, but I doubted they'd hide me very well. There were no cars, no other people. The voices were coming nearer and I just stood there paralysed. I wouldn't have been so scared if my condition hadn't been so bad. But seeing that I walked like an old man didn't help my case. I put my hands in my pocket and buried my face in my dark blue cashmere scarf. The voices were now right behind the corner and I felt my heart beat quicken. The hairs on my neck and my arms were like electrified and I seriously needed to pee. I didn't dare to look up when I heard the four men approaching. I knew that if they were really from the Bonato family, they'd recognize the face of Sebastian's fiancée. I didn't even want to think of the consequences. The men were walking directly up to me and I thought that I was going to puke right there. Sweat was collecting on my temples and I felt another wave of dizziness splash over me. My knees felt weak and my pulse was quickening with every second that passed.

"Hey, you, you have a smoke?" asked one of the men, his voice deep. I just shook my head, too scared to look him in the eyes. My scarf was still up to my nose, covering my mouth.

"Really? Cuz, you look like you got more than just a little smoke. What a nice jacket man." He said and I didn't say anything. I felt like a little girl, scared of looking under her bed. I felt them approaching me even more, all four of them against me. Wow, today was really my day, huh?

"Don't you have a mouth? Answer me!" he demanded, the other ones chuckling in the background.

"No" was all I said, and I should have guessed that that would just anger him more.

"_No_,you say? Well, why don't I help you look." He said and stepped so close that I could smell his cheap cologne. I drew in a breath. He was a bit taller than me and was _huge_. I bet I could fit twice in the pants of this man. His shoulders were very broad. Now I really felt like a girl. I was totally intimidated and I just hoped for a miracle. Suddenly I felt hands on my shoulders, pushing me hard to the ground. I fell and heard them laugh at me. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing me weak, so I pressed my teeth together and tried to stand up, but failing due to my rips that were hurting like hell. I fell back to the ground and they just laughed harder and harder, till their laughter rang in my ears.

"Well, well, well, what a pretty face you have." Said the man and I shivered. "You seem kind of familiar."

He kneeled down in front of me and suddenly I noticed that my scarf had fallen down and was lying on the ground, just like me. Shit! The man raised his arm as to touch my face but I recoiled as far as possible, my ribcage on fire.

The man chuckled and with one move he was laying on top of me on the ground, his stinky breath on my face. I struggled beneath him but he was just so massive. I didn't stand a chance.

"My…God. Fellows, I think we caught a nice one here. This is Alexander Lightwood." He said and I heard the other three gasp.

"But, but that means that -" started one of the other men but was interrupted by the one still crushing me to death.

"That means that our boss will be very happy with us. We can use him, to lure Morgenstern out."

Yeah good luck with that, morons, I thought and nearly laughed wouldn't this situation be so damn serious.

The man's hand went up to the collar of my shirt and started opening the buttons. One, two, three. My hands were clammy and my mouth was completely dry. I felt a rough hand on my bare shoulder and I tried again, in vain, to free myself. But the man on top of me didn't even seem to notice my attempts to get away. Finally his hand stopped sliding over my skin, when he found what he was looking for. He ripped it off my neck and took it in his hand. The Morgenstern chain was hanging before my and his eyes. He smiled with satisfaction and punched me in the jaw. One, two, three. At this moment the only thing I wanted was to be at home, in my bed with a good book and Sebastian lying beside me. Instead I was surrounded by four men with no good intentions. They hurled me off the ground, but I couldn't stand anymore, so I let myself fall to the dirty ground.

"Piece of crap, c'mon, move!" I heard the man shout but my ears were numb, my whole body was numb with pain and I couldn't even keep my eyes open. I felt one of them throw me over his shoulder, my stomach agreeing with me that I hated my life. They began walking and I just wanted Jace, or better Magnus, with his captivating cat eyes and wonderful silky voice. But no one was there. They walked up to an old looking Ford and one of them fiddled with the keys till he opened the door. The one that was carrying me was waiting in front of the trunk; I guessed that someone would help him open it to put me in. The one that had been talking to me went around and opened it. I felt them dump me into the tiny space, but before they closed it, another one of them put a rope around my ankles and wrist. Yeah, like I would run off like that.

"Should we make sure he doesn't scream for help?" said one of them with a strong Italian accent to the one that had been talking to me.

"Yeah, better, we don't want any trouble little one, heh?" The last part he had said to me, his hands cupping my face and I wanted to vomit or die. They put a piece of Sellotape on my mouth and before closing the trunk one of them said:" Our boss will like you"

With that I heard them start the engine and driving out of the parking lot. Shit! Goddamned, where the fuck was Jace? What the hell of a situation was I in? They would kill me, after torturing me, they'd finish me off. I knew it. But somehow the only thing that really scared me was how Seb would punish Jace for letting me die. Sebastian. Magnus. Jace. Izzy .Max. Mom. Dad. All of the people I cared about, I was never going to see –

A big crash let all air slide out of my lungs. I got tossed against the wall of the trunk that smelled like sweat and McDonald's food. My breath caught as I heard the man cursing and a lot of other voices shouting. What the hell was going on outside? I began pounding my fist against the walls in hope someone might hear me. I heard fire guns and I just thought of Sebastian, coming to rescue me like some cheesy prince. He wasn't coming to rescue me, but really himself. What would he have done if they had blackmailed him, using me? Suddenly I heard a beautiful voice very near the trunk and I started pounding even louder.

Because of the stupid Sellotape on my mouth I couldn't scream, but I kicked and punched like my life depended on it. Which it really did. Then someone opened the trunk and I opened my eyes to see Magnus standing over me, looking at me like he had just found a bag full of diamonds.

"I got him!" he shouted over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving me. He ripped the Sellotape off my mouth and freed my feet and hands. Then he took me bridal style out of the trunk and sat me down on the ground again. My legs felt like jelly and I knew I couldn't keep standing much longer, so I grabbed Magnus' hand and tried to steady myself.

"Alec? Are you all right?" he asked me but I didn't hear him anymore. I felt my legs give in under me and I would have fallen to the ground if Magnus hadn't helped me. He put his arm underneath my leg and the other one on my back and lifted me up so that my feet were just hanging.

"Put your arm around my neck." He instructed me and I could not even nod anymore, my ribs were killing me and everything was hazy and foggy. I felt Magnus move but I didn't know where, I just hoped it was home. He stopped in front of a black BMW X5 and someone opened the door for him. Magnus laid me carefully on the backseats and I felt something warm underneath my head. I looked up and saw Jace's face smiling sadly.

"Alec, man, I'm sorry, but they took me first and I didn't have a chance to call for help till it was too late."

I looked him in the eyes, my head resting on his thighs and smiled as well.

"It's not your fault." I reassured him and felt myself shiver. I was getting dizzier and dizzier.

"Here" said Magnus and turned the heater on. He was sitting on the passenger seat, me and Jace behind.

"What happened?" I asked Magnus and he turned around and faced us. His beautiful eyes sparkling in the night.

"Well I went to the docks with some of my men to _welcome_ the new merchandise. That was in the morning. Sebastian had received a call from one of his spies that said that the Bonato family was getting active again. So that's why he left you a note saying that you should not be out after four. But" and at that Jace gritted his teeth "you seemed to think that it was not important so you went out."

I nodded. I knew why they were getting active again. And Sebastian did too.

"What were you doing here anyway?" Magnus asked me and I shrugged, feeling Jace's amber eyes on me.

"Nothin'"

Magnus growled and I felt bad, but lying was my job, so why not lie to Magnus as well?

"We just wanted out, you know." Said Jace and I gave him a thankful smile. I tried to sit up but Jace stopped me from doing so. His hands pushed my head down on his thighs again and I somehow had to think of my mother.

"You need to rest. And I need to rest as well. I got beaten up pretty badly." He said and I looked at him more closely now. He had a few bruises already on his face and I guessed that his body looked a bit blue as well.

"Sorry" I said but he just shook his head.

"I'm your bodyguard, it's my job to protect you and I failed. So, _I_ am sorry."

"So sentimental, Jace" I said and he chuckled lightly, his legs vibrating and tickling my ear.

"I'm going soft, man." I looked away and saw Magnus glancing at us with a weird expression on his face.

"What?" I asked him but he only shrugged and said: "Nothin'" Just like I before, he was also lying. The windows were slowly fogging up, the heater was still turned on and I felt my eyelids close by themselves. Then the door on my side opened and I jumped a little as I saw Sebastian standing outside the BMW. His blond hair was plastered on his skin and I saw that he was out of breath.

"I came as soon as I could" he said breathless and I tried to sit up to make space for him, but Sebastian said: "Don't move." Looking at Jace his face darkened, becoming a mask of disgust and anger. "You on the other hand. Get the hell out of here!" he shouted and I winced.

"But Seb, Jace didn't know that -"

"Shut up Alec! It's his fault that this has happened. I told him that he should have an eye on the activity down here. But what did he do? Fucking nothing. So, _Jace_, would you do me the favor of getting the fuck out of my car?!" He spat with so much venom that I felt scared for the second time this day. What a weak coward I was.

"But S-"

"Now!" he roared and Jace nodded silently, but his amber eyes were on fire. Those two would never get along. Jace got out of the BMW and slammed the door shut and I jumped again. I slid back to make room for Sebastian, having totally forgotten Magnus. The blond boy got in and closed the door behind him. He took off his leather jacket and draped it over me. His strong arms embraced me and I felt safe again, even though I still had to think a bit about Magnus. He pulled me up, so I was sitting on his lap and kissed me on the lips and stroked my cheek with his thumb.

"God Alec, don't scare me like that. Do you hear me?"

I nodded silently and let Sebastian hold me like I was the most precious thing in the world.

"Let's go home, huh?" he whispered in my ear and I nodded, snuggling into his side a bit more. I closed my eyes and pressed them against his chest.

I heard the door of the BMW open and saw Wal behind the wheel. He turned around to look at me and Sebastian. He smiled lightly and then started the engine.

Finally, I was going home.

**A/N: Well, hope that wasn't too depressive / bad. I don't feel like this chapter is one of the best but now you know a bit more about his background. Or are you just more confused? Muahhahah. *evil laugh* Well, tomorrow you'll see Alec drunk ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alec PoV**

"Alec, are you awake?"

I heard a deep male voice murmur in my ear. I shivered and drew the fluffy blanked tighter around myself as something warm and strong wrapped around my still hurting torso. I drew in a breath, willing the pain to fade into the back of my mind as the voice spoke again, even softer now.

"Hey…Alec…wake up…"

I didn't want to wake up, I've had the most beautiful dream about me and Sebastian buying a house in L.A and living there with my sister and little brother. Everything had been so perfect, the trees had been swaying in the light summer breeze and my feet had sunken in with every step I took on the endless beach. The sun had been shining; I had heard my brother laugh and I had felt the touch of the man I loved. I had dreamed about the perfect day, but now it was time to wake up and face reality, or the one I was living in. I felt the arm that was holding me tight roll me to the side so I was facing in the other direction. I took a deep breath loving the smell of shampoo and fresh clothes. I slowly opened my eyes, as though afraid of what I might face. But I just saw Sebastian's clean shaved face hovering over me, a light smile on his lips. His dark eyes were sparkling and his blond hair was still a bit damp from the shower. I raised my hand and let my fingers slide through his moist hair, making him close his eyes like he was savouring a rare fruit. And it really was, rare. Seb had to work a lot and most of the mornings I found myself lying alone in bed, wishing that for once our lives could be interwoven. I was his fiancée but our daily routine couldn't be different. While he got up at six in the morning most days, to meet with some of his 'associates', I finished showering at eleven. Even though we lived together, we rarely shared moments of peace. Just lying in bed with him, feeling my fingertips on his skin, his lips on mine, was enough to make me happy. I doubted it was enough for him. I focused on Sebastian again that had guided my hand to his lips and had begun to kiss it lightly. He chuckled as I shivered and laughed as I did.

"I didn't even have to wake you with a kiss" he said and I couldn't glance away, his eyes were magnetic. He was like a beautiful tiger, very powerful and dangerous but if he wasn't hungry, he wouldn't bite you. Too bad that I had experienced what it felt like to get bitten. I smiled and Sebastian let my hand go, cupping my face with his bigger one. He looked me in the eyes for a second and then his expression sobered, the love in them slowly fading away. Now he just looked a bit worried.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked me in a low voice like a fair memory.

"Depends" I replied and he tilted his head to the side. He had a light grey shirt on and black sweat pants while I was still naked. The Morgenstern chain pendant was swaying in the rhythm of his heartbeat. The little silver star reflected the sunlight that flooded through our bedroom.

"On what?" asked Sebastian and I shrugged.

"On the activity" I said and Sebastian smirked deviously.

"I see" he said and after a few seconds he looked me in the eyes and I had to gasp because of the overwhelming emotion in them. I saw hunger, lust, desire, passion and most of all I saw need. The need to be loved, to be accepted for who he is and the need to belong. The same one I had, I guess that that was why I could never leave him. We needed each other, like a broken vase we needed the other piece to be whole again, otherwise there would always be something missing. He was fire, burning brightly and shining more and better than any star, and I was, well, I was the opposite. If he was a tiger I was a deer and if he was fire I was the earth. Opposites attract but no one ever thinks about the one that gets burned, or bitten. Our relationship had always been like this, very unstable, very unbalanced but with an unyielding ferocity that no one could ever fathom.

"Your ribs?" he said and I shook my head. He'd just feel guilty if I told him that they still hurt and I was still in a bad shape. So I did what I did best; I lied. And when I saw him smile I knew that even though lies have short legs, I hoped I would still make it to the finish line.

"Then your ass?" he said and when I blushed a horrible beet red he laughed and embraced me with such fervour that my heart did a little skip.

"You are adorable darling" he said and I smiled and pressed my face into his chest. "I hope it was worth it, though" he said half serious, half laughing and I mumbled a tiny 'yes' in his clothed muscled chest. I heard and felt him breathe out, his chest rising and falling languidly. His hand pushed a few strands of raven hair out of my still very heated chest and I felt his lips on mine. Not soft, it was never soft with him, not sweet, that was something neither of us wanted. His mouth came crashing down on mine, our tongues immediately starting to dance with each other, our hands, our arms our legs getting tangled up. I was lying underneath him, the blanked still covering my lower parts, the tame cat disappearing, a wild beast hovering over me, with his fangs bare. As his mouth devoured mine his hands glided over my naked chest, my torso and –

I screamed out in pain.

In seconds Sebastian had jumped of off me, leaving me lying on the bed my own arms around the bruises that covered my ribs painting them a lovely blue colour. "Damned!" I heard myself whisper, tears in my eyes.

"Alec, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have been so rough with you when you are in such a bad shape."

Sebastian sat down again and pulled me up so I my head was lying on his chest again. I tried to breathe normal again and after a few minutes that felt like torturous hours I thought that I could start kissing him again. But when I twisted around and started kissing his neck he stopped me, his hands on my shoulders.

"Stop. We don't have time and I don't want you to move more than necessary." In my opinion this _was_ necessary, but one shouldn't argue with the boss. So I nodded and watched as Seb got out of bed and started walking to the door.

"Where are you going?" not liking the pleading tone that tinged my voice. The door handle already in his hand he turned around and said: "I'm gonna make breakfast, come when you are ready."

Then he closed the door with a small thud and I was alone. I didn't want to be separated from Sebastian more than already necessary so I got out of bed, with many difficulties, and swayed a bit, feeling dizzy. Soon it was over and I found my way to the bathroom where I took a shower, combed my hair and brushed my teeth twice. My father had been a dentist. I avoided the mirror and touched my jaw lightly trying to guess if the bruise was still there or not. Two days had passed since the 'incident'. I had been lying in bed most of the time, bored to death till Seb decided to make up with me. We talked about it, but we both knew that his promises to never do such a thing again were just empty ones. I knew that he'd become the beast again, it was in his blood, and I knew that I would always take the beating for someone else. I didn't want Jace or Magnus getting hurt because I made a stupid mistake. Thinking about Jace, Seb didn't kill him, he didn't even touch him, but he did something even worse. He just ignored him, didn't invite him to meetings and only talked to Jordan, my other bodyguard. I didn't even want to start arguing with Seb, we both knew that I'd lose. Jace and Sebastian had never been best buddies but since Jace had begun working for him…Well, the situation wasn't any better now. After the stop at the bathroom I walked to the closet, got dressed and walked as fast as possible to the kitchen where I found a set table with a magnificent breakfast and steaming hot black coffee. I smiled but frowned when I didn't hear Sebastian's voice. I walked to the living room and didn't find him there either. I was confused, Seb rarely left without saying anything and even if he did he would have written me a note saying so. I walked to Magnus' room down the hallway and knocked twice. When I didn't hear anything I thought that it wouldn't hurt to go in and check in on the handsome man. I opened the door just to peek in for a second and what I saw left me breathless. Magnus was lying in bed, fast asleep, on his back. He didn't have anything on so I felt a bit perverted to just look at his defined abs in that matter. But I just couldn't look away for the life of it. His caramel coloured skin sparkled in the sunlight and his chest rose and fell softly with every steady breath he took. His beautiful lips were slightly parted and I just stood there, mesmerized by this gorgeous creature. He was so different from Jace or Sebastian. While both of them were burning up on the inside with passion and thirst, Magnus was alive, yes, but more controlled. He felt with his whole heart but he could control his emotions playing it cool even though he was very nervous. I had first noticed this when we meet at the bar. He had been exited I had noticed that, but to me he had shown a cool face, hiding the fact that he was anxious. And two days ago, when he rescued me like some fairy tale prince I had known that it was jealousy, the reason for his weird look. I took a deep breath and closed the door, leaving the sleeping beauty behind. I wanted to turn around but crashed into a very muscled and tan chest. Jace. I raised my eyes at him; even though he was a bit shorter than me he looked far more impressive with his broad shoulders and fair hair. I saw him smirk and I just rolled my eyes and started to walk away towards the kitchen, hoping that my coffee hadn't gone cold by now. I heard Jace following me and as I sat in a comfortable chair he did the same.

"Morning Alec" he said, overly sweet. I just shot him a death glare that could have killed anything. Jace Herondale was an exception to this rule. The blond man just sat there, grinning and eating my grapes like some Greek god.

"Grumpy, are we?" he said and I just growled. I heard him laugh and I tried to ignore him, poring some of the black liquid in one of the spotless white cups. I was about to put in some sugar when Jace snatched the beverage away from me, guiding it to his perfect shaped lips and taking a sip from it. He smirked deviously and winked at me.

"Why thank you Alec, you didn't have to get me a coffee." I must admit that it was getting harder and harder to ignore his sarcastic remarks but I think I did a pretty good job.

"Morning, no, _de rien_, what do you want?" I said with a stony expression and Jace just chuckled, lifting his feet and putting them on one of the other chairs.

"I didn't know you spoke _that well_ French Alec. You are a man full of mysteries."

I didn't know why I hanged out with this guy. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that breaking his nose would surely be considered not so polite.

"Jace" was the only thing I said, scolding him like a mother. I shoot him a glare but he didn't seem to notice. He took a sharp knife and started peeling an apple.

"That's my name" he said cockily and chuckled.

"What do you want?" I repeated tired of having my best friend here, mocking me.

"Must there be a reason for me to spent time with you?" he asked a hand over his heart, a look of hurt on his beautiful golden face.

"You never have time. And when you do you are always flirting with some girl."

He thought about that for a minute before answering me.

"Yeah, you aren't wrong there, Junior"

"Don't call me that!" I said. I hated when the 'family' called me that, Eric Green used to call me that. He was an annoying little kid, ugly as hell, he always reminded me of a rat, don't know why. Jace just chuckled and said then:" Sorry Alec, I just talked to E. that's why."

I frowned, Jace rarely talked to another Capo. He was my bodyguard and worked for Seb but didn't do business with Rose and E.

"Why?" I wondered and Jace shrugged biting into the green apple. I let him gulp down the bite and he replied: "We were talking about the little mission we have planned for today."

"What mission?" I asked, I didn't know anything about that. Seb would have told me if it had been something important but I didn't remember him telling me anything like that.

"You don't know?" my friend asked me incredulously and I shook my head.

"Well, then I don't know if I should. Maybe you are not supposed to know about it." He said and I was even more confused now.

"What? Why the hell should I not know about this?"

"I dunno maybe Sebastian thought that you wouldn't be up for it."

"Up for what?" I said, getting angrier at the second. Why all the secrecy suddenly? Jace put the apple down on the plate and leaned forward. I mirrored his movement so that we looked like two suspicious criminals. Oh, wait, we were criminals. Just not suspicious.

"Well, you know about the Bonato family, right?" he asked me and I nodded. They were our number one enemies. The head of the family was Oscar Bonato, a man around thirty with dark brown hair and a weakness for half naked men. He made most of his money with prostitution, illegal women working in some illegal places. Sounded kind of familiar.

"You know they have been getting excited over something again, right?" I nodded again. A few years ago, around the time I met Seb and Valentine, his father, the Bonato family had been nearly dead. Their great leader gone, their spirit crushed, they had disappeared. Recently there had been some incidents that had let Seb to believe that they were getting active again, with a new leader. Oscar was a man that looked like the nice handsome uncle on the outside and would push a dagger into your back when you turned around. He was a double edged sword, but Sebastian was too. I knew that better than anyone.

"They have invited us and the Veneto family to celebrate Oscar's birthday." Jace said and I felt my eyes widen.

"Are you serious?" I said, not believing a word my best friend had said. Jace nodded and took another bite, a bit of apple juice on his long fingers.

"And?" I said feeling exited all of a sudden. It had been a long time since the Morgenstern's met the Veneto's and Bonato's. The three families, the three mafia clans were the most influential of America, the Morgenstern the most. The tension in the room would be palpable. Of course we didn't meet to exchange friendly birthday gifts and a few smiles that was just what we did. We really met to have a good look at the competition, at the enemies. You know what they said: "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer"

This was a chance to find out their weak spots, their best kept secrets and their most dangerous truths.

"What 'and'?" said Jace, having finished the apple and throwing the stem away.

"Well, are we going?" I wanted to go so bad that I felt my intestine clench together. Jace raised his eyebrows and said after a few seconds: "I dunno. "

I looked at him with desperation.

"How could you not know if we are going to one of the most important events of the year?"

Sometimes I thought Jace had air in his pretty head.

"Well I could ask you the same thing." He said trying to defend himself.

I shook my head at him. "That's so not the same. I was lying in bed for two whole days now and Seb just suddenly disappeared before even having breakfast, so I really had no chance to ask. I didn't even know this invitation existed!"

I leaned back and Jace did as well. I heard his stomach rumble and put a toast on his plate. Jace smiled lightly and said then :"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. It's just that if Sebastian didn't tell you about it there must have been a reason right? I mean maybe _you_ aren't going."

I looked at him dubiously. "Then why would you go? You would just go if I did too, right? I mean that's your job."

Jace shrugged and sighed. He began cutting away the corners of the toast. Jace hated the bread crust.

"Yeah, you are probably right."

After a few seconds of silence I said: "What was that 'mission' you were talking about earlier?"

At that Jace put down the knife he was holding in his right hand to butter his toast and looked at me with his amber eyes.

"I didn't even tell you the best part, huh?"

I just raised my eyebrows in anticipation.

"The party will be at the Bonato's mansion."

I looked at Jace like he had just turned into a frog.

"Why would they do something so reckless and stupid?" I wondered , already guessing the answer.

"Maybe they want to show off" chuckled Jace and took a big bite out of the toast. I frown at him, yes, indeed, air.

"Yeah, that is totally reasonable Jace. Much more reasonable than to have planned something." I said and smirked as Jace winked.

"It was worth a try."

I only shook my head and thought that surely Oscar Bonato wouldn't be so stupid to just invite us to his house, where all his secrets were hidden. I wouldn't. But if I knew that my enemies were coming I surely would make it easy for them to find some misleading information. Maybe it wasn't a trap; they were outnumbered, even if they joined forces with the small Veneto clan. What had Oscar planned? I looked out of the window, the only sound being Jace, eating his toast with loads of different sound effects. I saw NYC before me and thought briefly about Seb that had just disappeared into thin air.

"Do you know where Seb is?" I asked Jace and turned back around to face the golden boy. He gulped down the food and said : "Yeah, he left."

"Yeah, Jace, I got that far. The question is, where to?" I said talking slowly like to a child. Jace rolled his eyes at me and it made him look like a fish.

"He went downstairs, told me to keep you company and took off."

"Just like that?" I asked, frowning. Even though Seb didn't always inform me about everything he at least told me where he was and when. That he just left was not normal for him.

"Just like that." Confirmed Jace and looked at the toasts that were still left. I sighed.

"Well, maybe I should call him, or bet-"

But I stopped seeing a disheveled Magnus coming through the door. He had not showered yet, his feet were bare and his shirt didn't let anything to the imagination, that's how tight it was.

"Morning everyone" he murmured and poured himself some coffee into one of the cups. Then he went to the fridge and took out the milk and cream. He sat down beside Jace and put three spoons of sugar in his coffee. Then he sat still and looked at me.

"Ahem…Good morning Magnus. I hope you slept well" I said and had to control myself not to cuddle him right there. He just looked so cute, without the fancy clothes and the light makeup. He smiled at me and started to slowly drink his coffee.

"Tell me about the 'mission'" I demanded and Jace looked at Magnus with alarm.

"I already know all about that blondie so go ahead and use your mouth like a big boy." Said Magnus into his cup and I chuckled a bit. Jace growled but after a few seconds said:" Alright. Well, Sebastian said that maybe one or two of us could look around the house, if you know what I mean."

He winked at me and I scowled. Everything was a joke to Jace while I tended to think about stuff way too much. I sighed. This was going to be interesting but I had no idea who was going to go around the house an-

"I'll do it." Said Magnus suddenly awake and I blinked a few times, processing what I had just heard.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He couldn't mean what I thought he did, right?

Magnus looked me in the eyes and I had to take a deep breath not to faint at the sight of those beautiful green golden cat eyes that drew me in like a hurricane. I looked down at my hands that rested on my lap and when Magnus spoke again I remained in that posture.

"I will be the one looking around the house. Sebastian already told me yesterday."

"Oh, so you know it since yesterday." I said, a bit hurt that Sebastian hadn't told me anything. "Good that I am his fiancée." I mumbled the last part more to myself than to Magnus and Jace, but the man seem to have heard and I saw his eyes widen.

"You are his…fiancée?" he gulped and I tilted my head to the side. Why was that such a shock? I mean I wore the ring on my finger. I looked down on my right ring finger to find it empty. And then I remembered. I had taken it off the night I had first met Magnus, because Sebastian didn't want to draw even more attention. Nearly everybody knew that I was his, but an empty finger was always better than one with an engagement ring on it. The spies would not know if we were just a fling or a real couple. Than those incidents, like the one two days ago, could be prevented. People might think I was nothing to Seb, which meant that I wasn't in such grave danger. They had recognized me anyway. I saw the look of surprise and disappointment wash over Magnus' handsome face, but in a second it was gone.

"Yeah." I said, not wanting to go into detail. My life was a private thing and I wanted it to stay that way. Magnus nodded and Jace shot me a look but I ignored him.

"Who else is going with you?" he asked instead and Magnus just shrugged.

"I heard a few men talking about Hook and that he should have been the one coming with me, but as the situation changed, so did Sebastian's decision. " he said and I nodded. Magnus may know a day before I did that there was a huge event coming up, but he surely did not know why Hooks' situation had changed so drastically. And he didn't know that it was because of me.

"Maybe E. then, he is always up for shit like that." Said Jace and I eyed him. We both shared the same opinion about E. He was a rat, a skinny lad that would to anything for money and wealth.

'If you want to test a man's character, give him power' this would be an interesting test, E. would surely not surprise me and Jace.

"So when are we going?" I said and checked my Hermes watch that was fastened around my slender wrist. It was already one o'clock, man how time went by.

"I think we have to meet with the boss at eight" said Jace and I looked at him.

"Here?" I asked and he shook his blond curls. But Magnus was the one that answered me and I looked at his beautiful and perfect face, hating myself for having to lie to him. But I did it anyway.

"We are meeting him at the Morgenstern Club" he said with his accent that made me want to listen to him all day. His velvet voice still echoed around the room as the doors of the elevator opened. I stood up and walked to the living room finding Jordan there. The light brown haired boy approached me with his long legs and stopped in front of me, so that my nose was at the height of his mouth.

"Hey Alec, is Jace here?" he asked me and I nodded and signaled him to follow me to the kitchen. When Jace saw Jordan he smiled and waved.

"Hey Jordi, what's up?" he said and Jordan growled at his nickname. Jace always liked to taunt us with those stupid names. Junior, Jordi, what was going to come next? Magni?

I had to smile a little at that.

"I come to tell you that we have something to do." The boy said, always the more serious one. Jace grin disappeared. When Sebastian wanted something from you, you better wish it was not an assassination.

"What does he want?" asked Jace, his expression dark and somber.

"He says to get you Alec, to the MC (Morgenstern Club) at six." Jordan said and we all relaxed.

"Well it's not even two now, so why did he tell you that already?" I asked him and Jordan just shrugged.

Magnus took his last sip and put the empty cup down. I looked at him and he at me. I blushed a bit and glanced at my feet.

"I still have something to do, so…" I said and looked at Jace. He knew what I needed to do. He nodded and said :"I'll come with you"

But when he started to get up I shook my head.

"No, please Jace, I want to go alone you know that." I pleaded but he wouldn't listen. He got up and walked to me so he was standing directly in front of me. I saw his tan golden skin, his beautiful amber eyes and saw that he understood, but wouldn't back down.

"I can't. I need to go with you. These are my orders." He said and I looked down at my feet. I didn't want Jace to be there, not because I didn't like spending time with him, but because it was something that I wanted to do by myself. Just like all the years before. The situation had changed though, now the Bonato family was out there and they knew who I was and what I was.

"Alec -" started Jace but a melodic voice interrupted him.

"If you want, _I _can go with him."

I raised my eyes and looked at Magnus, a look of surprise on my face. Why would he want to go with me?

"You?" said Jace and I saw that the idea didn't scream 'GOOD' at him.

Magnus got up as well and I noticed for the first time how much taller he was than Jace. He looked down on all of us, but Jace looked really short in comparison to him. I stood between Jordan and Jace, Magnus a few feet away.

"Why not? I am sure I can protect myself and him just as well as you could."

"Really?" said Jace and Jordan opened his mouth to calm Jace down but the blond boy was already saying what was on his mind.

"Well, excuse me for believing that a trained bodyguard could do a better job than a soldier who had just luck to be in the position of a Capo, even though he doesn't even know how to spell 'mafia'."

Magnus didn't seem impressed at all and just smirked.

"What makes you think that I am not a trained bodyguard?"

"_Please_, look at yourself; you look like a skinny branch."

"And you look like a fake blond bitch, the way you are annoying the crap out of me."

"Well you look like a -"

"Stop it!" said Jordan finally and Jace and Magnus took a step backwards. I breathed out. Man, those two didn't get along as well. Two huge egos, I guessed.

"While you are fighting about who looks tougher than the other, I'll be on my way." I said and walked to the closet, took my leather jacket from D&G out and pushed the elevator button. I hoped that it wouldn't start snowing, because I had no gloves and I feared that if I went back to the closet, Jace would catch me. I heard Jace and Jordan, both arguing and smiled. Better for me if they were too distracted to keep an eye on me. When the silver doors parted I stepped into the luxurious room and sat down on the silver chair. My ribs were still not all right, so I thought it was better to rest as much as I could. I would have to walk a bit to get to my destination. I felt the elevator descend and I closed my eyes for a second. I had to think about Magnus, his expression when I told him that I was Sebastian's fiancée. Somehow I had felt bad for telling him, almost like I didn't want to hurt him. But why would he even be hurt? I mean he was a friend of mine but… I didn't know what to think anymore. The elevator stopped and the doors opened and I slowly walked into the dark garage where all of Sebastian's 'babies' were guarded. I walked to my bronze Mercedes Benz CLS and before I could put the key in, I nearly screamed when a hand prevented me from doing so. It was pressed over my mouth, another arm coming around my broken ribs and gently squeezing that I felt tears in my eyes. I struggle against the grip but couldn't move till I heard a lovely familiar voice in my ear making me shiver.

"Sh…Relax, Alec, it's just me."

I tried to turn around and look at Magnus but he was still holding me so close to his chest that I could hear his heartbeat. He released me and I stepped away and tried to even my breathing. I was holding my ribs and looking at the ground, not wanting to appear weak in front of Magnus. I blinked the tears away and coughed a few times, everything foggy. I felt Magnus hand on the small of my back and on my shoulder holing me up right.

"I'm fine " I wheezed and I heard Magnus chuckle.

"I'm sorry darling, I just had to prove a point."

I straightened my back, my hands on my knees and looked at Magnus.

"This was just to prove a point?" I asked incredulously. He was worse than Jace. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I said angry and Magnus looked a bit regretful.

"Sorry, but if I am able to catch you, I am able to protect you as well." He said and shrugged, satisfied with himself. I scowled and picked up the car keys that I had fallen when Magnus had grabbed me. I wanted to put the key in a second time when Magnus took my wrist and stopped me. I wanted to ask what the hell the problem was now, but he just said:" I've always wanted to drive a Mercedes CLS"

I smiled and nodded but frowned when Magnus followed me. I went to open the passenger door but he was faster and got it for me.

I had to blush like an idiot but it was worth it. One of the most beautiful men was holding up a door for me.

"Thank you Mr. Bane" I said and he winked.

"Always, Mr. Lightwood." I chuckled and watched as he got in beside me and took the steering wheel in both hands like he was ready to drive off at any moment.

"So, where to?" he asked me and I said :"Brooklyn."

He just raised his eyebrows, probably thinking what someone like me would want in Brooklyn. Magnus drove out of the garage and into the New York traffic. I didn't say anything and put on the radio. The new song from Taylor Swift filled the car.

_…ou put me down oh_

_ I knew you were trouble when you walked in_

_ So shame on me now_

_ Flew me to places i'd never been_

_ Now i'm lying o-_

Suddenly her voice stopped. Magnus had pushed another button to change channels and I glanced at him.

"What if I liked that song?" I said a smile on my lips. He didn't look at me, just stared at the car before him. He chuckled and said :"Then I would have been very disappointed."

"Well, I don't think that it's_ such_ a bad song." I said but somehow I couldn't take this conversation seriously. Was I flirting with him?

"Not 'such' but still 'bad'." He said and I had to laugh. I changed channels again and now we listened to some indie guitar shit that I hated. Magnus seemed to like it though so I left it on.

"So, where are we going exactly?" he asked me at a red light and looked at me. I had to say that his eyes were even more magnetic than Sebastian's.

"To Brooklyn, I already told you." I said but Magnus kept glancing at me. I sighed and nodded to myself.

"Alright. We are going to the Green- Wood cemetery." I said and avoided looking at him. I didn't want his pity; he didn't even know why we were really going there. Maybe I just wanted to walk around the beautiful park?

"I-"

"Green" I said and Magnus shook his head and began driving again. The rest of the way we were silent, Magnus told me that we had to be back at six to make it to the MC. I looked at my watch and saw that it was already two thirty. When we passed a flower shop I told Magnus to stop there. I unfastened my seatbelt and went to open the door but Magnus stopped me.

"Where are you going?" he asked me and I thought that Jace might not be the only one with air in his beautiful head.

"To buy flowers?" I said and looked at him with risen eyebrows.

"Yeah, I got that. But alone?" he said and I sighed. I had forgotten that Seb was a control freak and Magnus apparently as well.

"Yes Magnus, alone, because I am a twenty- one year old man that can take care of himself." I said and just saw that Magnus tilted his head to the side.

"You look younger than twenty –one." Was the only thing he said.

"And you look ridiculous not letting me go buy some flowers." I retaliated and he took his hand away. He looked down for a second and said then:" Alright, go. But if you are not back in five minutes I'm coming in." I didn't know why he was so concerned about me but it was kind of cute.

I nodded thankfully and got out of the car and walked the few steps to the flower shop. I got in and said hello to the old woman at the cashier.

"What can I do for you?" she said and I told her that I needed 21 Calla Lilies. 21, for every year my parents had lived together. They met when they were 25, had me when they were 30 and died when I was 16. Well, my mother was still alive, but when your eyes are dead, that your soul is as well. I thought of my mother as dead. I thought that the lung cancer didn't only kill my father, but also my mother.

I paid the lady and said thank you and walk out of the small shop. When I got back in the car Magnus smiled at me and looked down at the white flowers.

"They are beautiful" he said and I had to gulp. Why was I getting so emotional about the whole thing? I blinked a few times and said then "Let's go."

Magnus nodded and started the engine. We drove to the Green –Wood cemetery and parked the car, before getting back out again I looked at Magnus and said:" Thank you"

He just smiled and I took the flowers and got out of the car, Magnus following me. We walked in silence; I was leading the way, Magnus following with his long legs. I saw our shadows crossing and intertwining and I suddenly felt happy. It was weird, because I was about to visit my father, but I felt as though it wasn't as bad as other times. We walked up a little hill and then I saw it from a distance. I took a few steps and then stopped. I felt Magnus look at me and finally he said: "Do you want some privacy?"

I just shook my head and started walking again. I walked slower and slower till I came to stand in front of the white marble stone.

_Here lies Robert Lightwood,_

_Loving father, Loving husband_

_'semitas eligimus definire nobis'_

I gulped and looked down at the flowers in my hand. I kneeled down and put them on the snow that was covering the ground, wondering if he knew that I visited him every month. The words in Latin had been something my mother used to say. Now the only thing she did was ask when her husband was coming back. I suddenly felt tears in my eyes but blinked till they were gone, my throat felt tight and my hands cold. It had started to snow and I was getting colder and colder, the harsh winter wind eating through my too thin clothes. I got up and wiped a tear away, angry at myself. Why did I always hate myself when I stood before my parents? I knew why. I had betrayed every one of them. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Magnus. He had a smile on his face, not a sad or a pitying one, but a sincere one. A true smile. I tried to smile back but my body wouldn't obey. I sighed and felt a bigger hand taking mine. I felt captivated by Magnus eyes and I saw him lean forward, our white breaths dancing around each other. I stepped nearer and so did he when –

My iPhone began ringing like crazy and I jumped back. I had forgotten for a moment where I was. I had been too mesmerized by Magnus' eyes that I had forgotten myself. I gulped and with shaky hands I took the cell phone out.

Sebastian. I answered the call and avoided looking into Magnus' eyes.

"Get the hell down here" was the only thing he said before hanging up and leaving me confused and sad in the snowy cemetery with a stranger by my side.

**A/N: Sorry, drunk Alec is next chapter, I feel bad now for telling you that…Anyway, I hope you liked that chapter, thank you for the reviews! If you see the little button, why don't you press it? Hahhahah. Thank you for reading! :) Next Chapter will be up or tomorrow or Sunday, if I am motivated enough… *hint* *hint* you get the idea! Latin translation: **_The paths we chose define us._


	5. Chapter 5

**Magnus PoV**

I looked at Alec and wondered for a brief second what would have happened if our lips had connected. I wasn't in love with him or anything, to develop feelings like that for another person took time, but I was sure that there was _something_ between us. I had noticed the first time at the bar and I had noticed now at the cemetery. I was sitting behind the wheel of Alec's Mercedes CLS and driving back to the Upper East Side where the MC was located. I stopped at a red light but didn't dare to look at the beautiful boy sitting beside me. Since Sebastian's call he had been giving me the silent treatment. It wasn't something that I was uncomfortable with, silence; Jem wasn't a very talkative person. My roommate had kept to himself because he didn't want people worrying about him. And now look where it got him. I didn't want to think about Jem or about the promise I was trying to keep. I didn't want to have a nervous breakdown in front of my handsome friend. I heard Alec sigh and I risked a quick glance. He was looking out of the window, a vacant expression on his perfect face. His skin was pale as ever, not a shade whiter than the snow that was softly falling on the ground and painting the world a lovely color. I saw the deep blue of his eyes, reflected in the window. We had left the Green –Wood cemetery around three in the afternoon, but due to an accident on the slippery road it was already five now. Sebastian would so not be amused. I tried to avoid thinking about the blond boss and focused on the road again, seeing that the Toyota in front of me started to creep forward.

"Why is there so much traffic?" said Alec and I could feel that he was getting nervous. His voice had lost the sincerity and taken on a whiney tone that I didn't really like. I shrugged and said:" There was an accident on the bridge"

Alec just sighed again and I felt like I should start counting it.

"Can't we go another way?" The boy said and I watched his full lips part as he spoke revealing a row of perfect white teeth.

"Not unless you want to get there at eight." I said and Alec growled. Right now he reminded me of a little child that didn't get his chocolate when he wanted it.

"I guess we'll just have to wait here than." He said finally and with a tone that told me that he didn't want to talk to me anymore. I didn't understand him, I really didn't. First he was nice, then he didn't talk, then he was grumpy and then we nearly kissed. To say that I was confused would be the understatement of the year. The other thing I didn't get was why the hell he was with someone like Seb when he clearly was not happy. I saw the way his face changed when Seb ignored him, he was upset, he needed someone that could give him what he really wanted. I didn't think that I would be the one, but I hoped that maybe…one day…

Well everyone could hope and have dreams, right?

Finally the traffic seemed to disappear like the sun from the sky and we could drive a bit faster than 10 per hour. I smiled a bit when I saw a little girl walking by, her mother running behind her, trying to get her back. The girl had a little balloon in her hands that looked like it was trying to escape. We drove and drove and drove into Manhattan and as time passed I noticed Alec fiddling with the hem of his jacket, sliding around his heated leather seat and staring to bite on his finger nails.

"Don't do that." I said when I thought that Alec would explode of anxiousness "We'll be there in a few minutes."

"Yeah we better, cuz it's already five thirty."

It was kind of frustrating really. Normally one would be in 25 minutes in Brooklyn but with the heavy snow falling the people were clearly freaking out. I saw Alec shiver and turned the heater on.

"Thanks" he said and I murmured a short reply.

"Not for this, but for coming with me." He said and I noticed that he was watching me. I tried to avoid him; I didn't want to get too attached to this boy, so I kept my eyes on the white carpet we were driving on.

"You already said that. It was my pleasure." I told him and he kept silent. We drove up to the back entrance of the MC and I parked the car and turned off the engine, the car dying underneath our feet. I turned to look at Alec and he turned to look at me. I just observed him; his black hair, his full lips, his sapphire eyes. God, he was the most beautiful thing I had seen in a long time. I had to think of the first time we had met, even though I had acted like an ass he had been sweet to me, but now I didn't even see the mesmerizing Alec in front of me. It was like he was another person, the spark in his eyes dead. Where was the confident boy I had met that night? Alec gulped and I snapped out of it and unfastened my seat belt. I sighed again. This was going to be a long day, I was sure of it.

"What is going on?" said Alec, his voice so warm that I had to think of Jem again. I just shook my head and said:"Nothin'"

For a moment I thought that I had seen disappointment on his face, but in the next second he was already opening the door, stepping out of the warm Mercedes and into the white and strange world. I watched as he knocked on the door and got out of the car as well. I walked up to him, trying to protect my face from the cold and harsh wind that seemed to want to whip me. I stood behind Alec thinking that he was really not that much shorter than me when the door opened and Wal's friendly Scottish face appeared through the crack. He smiled at us and opened the door wider to let us pass. I followed Alec inside and we walked to the room I had first met everyone. To see a night club at five thirty in the afternoon was like seeing a celebrity without makeup. It was like a beach without sun, a –

Well you get the idea. I looked around the 'normal' looking room that was, to my surprise, empty. Alec took off his D&G jacket and put in on one of the fancy chairs. He sat down on one of the chaise lounges and closed his eyes. I saw him guide his fingers to his temples, slowly starting to massage them like he had some massive thoughts clouding his mind. I didn't want to say anything but I kind of felt awkward just standing in the empty room. Where the hell was everyone? Where had Wal gone?

I voiced my concern and Alec didn't look up, he just screwed up his face and whispered then: "So sick of this."

"What did you say?" I asked and he raised his pretty blue eyes at me.

"Nothing." Was the only answer he gave me.

I shook my head. I didn't get what was going on in his pretty had. But I had no chance to ask further questions when the door opened and the Doctor came walking in, followed by Sebastian and around eight other men. Jace and Jordan were there, Wal and E. I didn't see Rose though, which was normal considering I had replaced him. Now I was officially a Capo. I didn't see Alec move but in a second he was standing before Sebastian, hugging him like he had just been told he would die a horrible death. I raised my eyebrows but decided that it would be rude to stare at them while sharing such an intimate moment. I turned to Doctor Condori and smiled as I took his outstretched hand.

"So, we meet again, Mr. Bane." Raphael said a smile lingering in the corners of his mouth. I nodded and said:" I guess it was destiny."

"I don't believe in those type of things" he said and let my hand go.

"Really? Why not?" I said, curious about what kind of reasons a man like him should have to not believe in destiny.

"Well, let me just tell you that in my life, and I am fairly young, I have seen things that would make you a non-believer as well."

"What makes you think that I believe in_ anything_?" I asked the man and he just let out a loud laugh.

"Mr. Bane, you should know by now that I am good at figuring people out. And you are not the most difficult one, when it comes to your emotions." He said and glanced at Alec that seemed to have tears in his eyes and was whispering something into Sebastian's ear. The boss had put his arms around the boy, drawing him in closer so that their chests were touching.

I gulped. Was I really that easy to figure out?

"I see" Raphael said and his sad smile on his lips seemed to mock me. "I think that I have thought more about your feeling that yourself."

With that he stepped out of my way. I turned around to look at Alec and Seb again and saw them kissing. It wasn't like it hurt, but I could feel it like little small cuts on my skin, all over. I wanted to look away but I couldn't.

I saw Sebastian hand on the small of Alec's back, pressing him closer to his body, his other hand in the raven hair of the blue eyed boy. I saw Sebastian pull at the hair so that Alec tilted his head back and Seb started devouring his exposed neck. I blinked a few times and sat down on one of the chairs. The various voices in the room slowly faded away and I was left sitting there, completely alone in a room full of people. Jem, why didn't you tell me earlier, why did you do this to yourself…to me?

"Hey, daydreamer!" said E. and sat down beside me. He looked even uglier today. He had a green shirt on with a huge Polo Ralph Lauren horse in fuchsia. I hated those colors. I looked away without replying and saw Sebastian grabbing Alec's ass. I gulped again. Maybe it was better to look at something disturbing like E.

"Hello" I said a bit dryly and he gave me a toothless grin in return. Poor boy. It must be even worse to be in a room with people like Jace, Sebastian, Jordan, Alec and Raphael. God he must feel like…garbage. I decided to be a bit nicer to him from now on.

"So, what are the plans?" he asked me with his uneven voice and I just shrugged, I didn't know more than him, after all he was also a Capo. I looked around and tried to see Hooks ginger hair somewhere but I didn't see him. I wondered who was taking care of the illegal traffic of women while Hook was gone. Before I could ask I heard Sebastian's voice roar over all the others. In a second everyone was quiet, their eyes on Seb who still had Alec close to him.

"Everybody sit down!" he ordered and I saw Raphael, Seb, Alec, John and another man that I didn't know sit down to join me and E around the table. I sat between E and Raphael, Alec beside Sebastian and the unknown man. I let my eyes wander to his face.

He looked around thirty as well, just like Raphael. He had such a black skin that I swear I wouldn't see him at night, and that wasn't a racist comment. Actually one of my best friends had been black and I had loved that guy. Anyway, who was I to think less of other people when others thought less of me for being gay? I didn't understand this crazy world, but sometimes I hated the injustice that reigned. He was black, but his traits weren't the typical ones. He had a small nose and full lips but not as exaggerated as other African –Americans I knew. He looked like a nice guy all in all, but I wouldn't judge a cover by its looks. He had very broad shoulders and underneath the white shirt I could see his muscles. I thought that he must be Sebastian's bodyguard.

"I want to discuss a few matters with you all before we go to Oscar Bonato's manor." Said Sebastian and the men that were standing around the round table quieted down. I saw Jace and Jordan exchange a look but I turned back to the boss as he began to speak again.

"As you all know we are invited to his birthday. How nice" he said and smiled a fake smile, some of the men chuckling and laughing with him. I felt a shiver run down my back, but it was too late now. I was already in this shit knee deep.

"But we won't be there to party, obviously." He said and I heard him get serious again. "We'll use the opportunity at hand to look a bit around the house. Of course I know he will be expecting that, he will have loads of security around the whole manor, but with a bit of luck and…" and at that he looked down at Alec "skill, we will be good to go."

He grinned again, flashing his prefect white teeth like some dangerously sharp fangs. We all knew, the beast was back.

"So, everyone that is here right now will be coming with me to the party. Of course some of you won't need to put on a smoking. " he said and I saw Jace growl and roll his eyes.

Sebastian stood up and walked to the group of men that had been standing while he spoke.

"You, Francis, Chen, Antonio , Cameron and Cole will be waiting outside." He said and I saw them all nod. Sebastian turned to the three other men. "You, Sergey, Tyler, Wal, will come in with us, keep an eye on Oscar and his brother Gabriel above all." He said and the men went through the same motion as the ones before. Sebastian turned away and faced E. and me again.

"Magnus and Eric, you will be the ones looking through the house." I nodded and glanced at Alec that had opened his eyes like he wanted to say something, his blue eyes sparkling and his dark and long lashes casting shadows over his high cheekbones.

"Can't I go?" said Alec and Sebastian froze and slowly went to look at the boy who had a faint blush across his face. He looked at Sebastian, pleadingly, his lower lip between his white teeth.

"What?" snapped Seb and I suddenly feared for Alec's well-being. I didn't want another situation like at his loft so I quickly intervened.

"I think it would be better to go with someone more experienced." I said and Alec looked at me like I had just put a dagger in his back.

Sebastian didn't say anything and just shot Alec a death glare that made me shiver.

"Well if someone has another _glorious_ idea, please step forward." Sebastian said but everyone kept quiet. "Good." Said the boss slowly and then looked at Raphael.

"You'll stay with me. We will be trying to keep up the façade, all right?"

The Doctor nodded and the only ones left without a task were Alec and the black dude.

Sebastian, as if hearing my thought raised his eyes at the unknown man and said then: "James, you'll just do your job. Protect me."

James nodded and I felt my heart beat faster, Alec still didn't have anything to do, I didn't think that Seb would just let him go off and dance. Someone like Seb had always something planned, a little agenda, guiding him through the day.

The boss fixated his black eyes on Alec and I had to admit that he looked very handsome. His strong jaw, his muscled body that moved underneath his button down shirt and his eyes that were so magnetic. Alec looked like his prey at that moment. Sebastian moved till he was standing right beside him, looking down on the boy that had his teeth clenched together. That was hot. Sebastian took his chin with his fingers and made Alec look him in the eyes. I bet no one would like to change places with him right now. "And you darling" he said and Alec blinked a few times "will _entertain_." He gave him a devious grin and Alec gulped. "In other words, get a bit loud, a bit drunk, and a bit friendly with Gabriel."

I felt my eyes widen against my own will. Did he just tell his own fiancée that he should…oh..well. I didn't think that the little Magnus inside my head would shut up the whole night, he was killing Sebastian, he was hurting him. But I didn't move a finger. I just sat there and watched as Alec paled.

"Wh-what?" he stuttered and I felt pity for him.

"Drink a few Vodkas and you'll be good to go, darling." Said Sebastian and then the door opened. A man walked in, black clothes, brown hair.

Sebastian looked up and released Alec's chin. The boys hand came up to rub the red patch that his hand had left.

"Are the cars here?" the boss asked and the man nodded silently and walked out again without saying a word. Sebastian looked at the group of people but his eyes stayed on Alec a few seconds longer. The boy was looking down at his hands on his lap a look of sadness in his incredible eyes.

"Let's get going, I want everyone except the ones that will be staying outside in your best attire." ordered Sebastian and everyone nodded in union. The men began to depart, till there was only I, Raphael, Jace, Jordan and Alec and Seb left. E. had left as well not before telling me too put one some glitter so he will recognize me. I had laughed with a dry mouth.

Suddenly Alec stood up very quickly and nearly ran to the door, slamming it shut after disappearing behind it. I heard Jace sigh and Jordan shake his head looking at Sebastian who was admiring himself in the mirror.

"See, Mr. Bane, no destiny." Said Raphael and I didn't really know what he meant but I decided to let it slide this time and just nodded and smiled a bit, observing Jace and Jordan. I knew that Jace was furious, I was too, but I could control myself. Alec and Sebastian were the only ones that knew what the truth was.

"We should go as well" said Raphael then and Jordan nodded like he was afraid that Jace would punch Sebastian to death in mere seconds. I stood up from the comfortable chairs and started walking towards the door. I felt Sebastian beside me but I didn't want to start a conversation with him.

"Are you okay with the arrangements?" he asked me and I raised my eyes to meet his black ones. He was staring intently at me and I thought that I had never seen someone look at me like that; with so much _passion_ and fervour.

"Of course. I already agreed to play my role." I said and Sebastian smiled. We arrived at the double doors that would lead us outside and the two men guarding it opened it for us. The sky was dark and it had stopped snowing but it was as cold as ever. I just wanted to get home and nothing more. I didn't even know which car I should look out for, they had so many. This far I had sat in a Porsche, a Mercedes and a BMW…I guessed that Sebastian liked cars even more than he liked clothes. I let Seb lead the way and as we stepped around a corner I saw a new car. I had already trouble keeping up with those three, how was I supposed to remember which car was Sebastian's and which not?

There was a dark blue Lexus RX 450h Hybrid Plus waiting, the lights were on and I saw Alec sitting in the back already, his face turned to the other side.

"Do you want to drive?" asked me Seb and I had to think about the first time we met, he had asked me the same thing. But this time I didn't decline. I nodded and he threw me the car keys. I caught them in the air and opened the door and got behind the wheel. I thought that Sebastian would sit beside me but he got in and sat beside Alec. I put the key in the ignition and heard the car start. I loved driving expensive cars. One good thing that had come with my father.

"Drive home, will ya?" said Seb and I nodded keeping my eyes on the road and trying to ignore Sebastian's and Alec's conversation. It was kind of impossible.

"Darling, come here." I heard Seb say. Alec didn't react and just kept looking out of the window, watching the dark night pass by like a bad dream. Sebastian sighed and I saw through the rear mirror that he took Alec's hand and pulled him nearer to him. The boy tried to wiggle his wrist out of the grip but Seb wouldn't allow it and just kept pulling till Alec smiled a bit.

"Ah, there is my angel." He said and I thought I heard him smile. Alec chuckled softly and I saw how he nearly sat in Sebastian's lap like a little kitten. Sebastian put his arms around Alec and whispered something in his ear that I didn't catch. I kept driving.

"Don't do that again." I heard Alec mumble and Sebastian laughed lightly.

"I can't promise anything."

"Seb."

"What?"

I heard Alec growl and I suddenly felt the urge to take him in _my_ arms.

"Please, Sebastian" said Alec. Sebastian kissed him on the lips and as they kept kissing I thought I might vomit. I needed to get out of this car, it was suffocating. I stopped at a red light and didn't even have music to help me overhear the kissing sounds. I heard Alec moan and saw Sebastian put a hand on his butt, massaging it lightly. I gulped and closed my eyes. Why the hell was this shit happening to me? Did I have a crush on Alec or why did my stomach clench into a tight ball at their kissing sounds. A very annoying and loud honk behind me awoke me from my petrified state and I opened my eyes again and drove as fast as possible home.

As we stepped out of the car fifteen minutes later I thought that the party sounded like a very good idea. I needed to get away from Alec and from all of this mafia madness. I had to remind myself why I was even here for; it wasn't for fun that was clear. I pushed the elevator button like I had done countless times now and waited in awkward silence with Seb and Alec by my side. The ride to the flat was tinged with more silence that spread its cold fingers though the spaces in between us. Seb wasn't holding Alec's hand but I noticed the engagement ring on his pale and elegant finger. Gold with small diamonds that adorned it. How nice. The elevator doors parted and I nearly ran into my bedroom but sadly a strong hand held me back. It belonged to the boss who grinned at me deviously while Alec had disappeared into the dark hallway.

"You'll need a bit more _equipment _to do the job properly." said Sebastian and I had to shudder. This couldn't mean anything good. I swallowed the lump in my throat and felt like a mouse in the pranks of a lion. I nodded and Sebastian's grin only widened. He turned to walk to his study and opened the heavy wooden door for me and I stepped into the room. It wasn't really different form the other fifty that offered the flat. A huge window gave me the opportunity to watch the sun set over NYC, although I had missed that moment seeing as it was already dark night. The fluffy white carpet had been replaced by shiny dark parquet that looked like cherry wood and that was so polished that it reflected my anxious face. All along the high walls were lines of books and books just waiting to be read on the white shelves. My fingers itched to touch the old volumes but I resisted the urge and went to sit behind the great looking glass table. There was something missing though, I didn't really know what, but somehow I felt as though the warmth had gone astray while wandering through the flat. As I sat down I started to look at the very organised desk that included a wireless phone, loads of documents and papers and an impressive collection of CD's. Sebastian sat down on the other side so that we were facing each other. I had the privilege to be the one able to enjoy the view.

"Well, Magnus, you know what you'll have to do this evening." began Seb and my eyes never left his. I had to admit that he seemed like a frightening man at first, but after dealing with him for a few weeks I thought that I had learned to look him straight in the eye without recoiling. I nodded and answered: "Yes."

"Tell me again." Said Seb and it sounded more like an order than a request. I gulped; maybe the fear was still there in some corner of my mind. But I had to remind myself why I was doing what I was doing. It was for a good cause, although Jem would hate if I said that in front of him.

"I'll look around the house." I said but the boss didn't seem satisfied.

"What will you be looking for?" he asked me.

"Papers about a drug." I answered him.

The boss had told me while I was down at the docks. He had told me because I was the one in charge of the drugs that meant that I should be the one looking for a few very important documents that could be in Oscar Bonato's house. I didn't ask about any details, I just knew that it was a drug, a plant to be more specific. What its use was or why Seb thought it to be that important, I didn't know and I didn't care. I'll just do what I'm told, that way I'll get what I desire faster.

"A plant that will be used in the future. That way we can hold an economic advantage over the Bonato family. We'll be more powerful than them." I said remembering that day at the harbour. It had been cold and very windy and I had been nervous that my first real job would go wrong. Totally wrong. That didn't happen and I was endlessly happy for that.

Sebastian nodded slowly and stood up. My eyes followed him nervously and my mouth was dry. What did I still need? I had the information and I had someone who'd go with me. Sebastian pushed some of the heavy looking books out of the way and my eyes widened when I saw a little black safe. Seb turned around and winked and I looked down on my lap, wanting to give him some privacy while opening the safe. I heard the lock click open as Sebastian turned the little silver wheel.

"Come here." He said and I stood up and went to stand beside him. I looked into the safe that was bigger that I had thought at first. There were more document and more papers, all of them making absolutely no sense to me, then there were letters. Loads of them and all still closed. Some of them looked a bit yellow already like Sebastian hadn't had the courage to burn them but still would never open them. I tried to see from whom they were but Sebastian was already taking out another small black box and something that seemed like a map. He closed the door and left the box on the table.

"What is that? A map?" I asked, curious why a mafia boss would keep a map in his safe. Sebastian shrugged and smiled a bit.

"You are not wrong." He said and I tilted my head to the side when he unfolded the map. I wasn't looking at a map, but at a blueprint. A blueprint form a house, a huge house. I looked up at Sebastian who was leaning against the glass table.

"What -?" I started but he interrupted me, a bit hectic.

"It's Oscar Bonato's house." He said and I closed my mouth. Well, this really changed the situation. The only reason why Sebastian would have the blueprint of his enemy's house was that it wasn't the first time he had been there and it would surely not be the last. Did that mean that he had planned it all along? Maybe even before I joined the Morgenstern Clan? Did he plan it with Rose already and if he did then how did he know that Oscar would invite him to his birthday at his house? How did he even know that there was something in the mansion? I was confused and I was nervous because somehow I had the feeling to be tangled in a web much more complicated than I had expected. I had thought the mafia would be boundless, without law and scrupulous, but it was much more difficult than that. The mafia was like a spider web, a wrong step and you'd get eaten. They weren't just mindless criminals, but intelligent and very smart men, all fighting for one thing; power.

"You'll need that to know where to look. The rooms with a grey cross are the ones you should go in and take a look." Said Seb and I nodded. This would be more difficult than expected and I didn't think that E. was one of the smartest in the group.

"And this." continued Seb and went to open the little black box which was lying innocently at the glass table. He opened it and I had to swallow and breathe out very slowly. There, in the little box was lying a black gun that had a little silver _A_ carved into the handle. I had seen that gun before I was sure, but I was too scared to admit it. Why would Sebastian have my father's gun?

"It's a M9." said Seb interrupting my inner turmoil "This beauty won't make a sound when you pull the trigger."

I felt the boss look at me but I couldn't get my eyes off the black gun. The metal looked shiny and the gun seemed heavy even lying in a black little box. I didn't like guns, I have had some bad experiences with guns all of them involving my father and men in black. I raised my eyes to look at the boss and saw him grinning at me like those bad guys in the James Bond movies. I even felt like I was in a movie, too bad that I didn't know the script.

"Will I need it?" I asked instead of running away like I was tempted to do at the moment. I tried to control my shaking hand and the shivers that were running down my spine. As I said, I didn't like guns especially this one, there were too many bad memories involved.

"Depends" said Seb and I decided not to push my luck; the boss had been pretty civilized today. I still didn't understand the whole 'Iloveyousoooomuch' that Alec had displayed in the MC club, but I decided not to wonder about it anymore. It was none of my concern and I had to remind myself that I needed to get to finish line as soon as possible.

"Alright" I said after a few seconds still eying my father's gun suspiciously. Did Sebastian know my father? Surely not, but if he did, they'd make a very dangerous and explosive team.

"Do you know how to use it?" said Seb and I nodded with a dry mouth. Sadly I did.

"Great" continued Seb and gave me the blueprint of the Bonato's mansion and handed me the gun after a second as well. "Go get ready then." He said and left the room leaving me there with the weapon that had killed my mother.

"Alright" said Sebastian looking at me and E intently. "Remember you are looking for documents about the plant, do not try to find anything else, it is not in my interest to let Oscar know that we have been looking around his lovely home."

With that he turned back around and stepped out of the Porsche Cayenne. The ride to the Bonato's mansion had been a long one. Not time wise, we were still in Manhattan, but because I felt insecure and very nervous. The gun in my waistband felt as though it was made of plumb and my sweaty hand would surely let it fall to the ground. Sebastian's four bodyguards, one of them the black man, James, had no visible weapons but I was sure that theirs were as hidden as mine was. E was carrying a stun gun in his right pocket and was smiling at me. If it was meant to tranquilize me, he failed due to his yellow teeth and weird looking eyes. Besides Sebastian Alec was silent. I hadn't had a chance to talk to him about his _responsibilities. _I knew he was pissed and I would be too if my fiancée wanted me to flirt with the enemy just to buy us some time. Seb and Raphael would be around Oscar and Alec would try to keep Gabriel, his younger brother, entertained. Meanwhile I and E were to find out about this mysterious plant that could be a very expensive drug in the future. It was all about the power and the money. When Seb stepped out of the car I saw his bodyguards move in union, all of them positioning themselves behind their leader, the man they had to protect with their life. I watched as the Doctor walked up to Seb and shook his hand, both of them starting to move to the vast entrance of the mansion. I gulped as I saw Seb turn around one last time and winking at me. Then the door opened and they were gone as though the large villa had eaten them alive. Wouldn't that be a shame.

"You'll do it great, I'm sure of it" I looked up and saw Alec, a hand on the car door, smiling at me like the angel he was. I had to say he looked stunning tonight. His raven hair which was short at the sides and longer in the middle was styled up with some hair gel. His sapphire eyes were framed with coal black guy liner and his perfect pale skin looked striking in contrast to the dark ink blue smoking. Underneath the jacket he had put on a white button down shirt, with a black elegant and narrow necktie. It screamed Armani all the way. He looked gorgeous. I tried to return the smile but my mouth wouldn't obey me, my body tense and on the edge. Alec stepped out of the car and so did I and E. Jace and Jordan hadn't come, like I had thought at first, not only because Seb was still mad at Jace, but because Alec should not be protected tonight. Seb wanted Gabriel to think that Alec was not important to him which meant: No Jace, no Jordan.

It was really Alec the one that was most in danger; I had my gun, Alec only his shirt. We followed Alec to the front door, a huge mahogany one that was guarded by two huge men. I gulped again, damn, stop being such a pussy!

"Your names?" said one of them with a black beard.

I saw Alec smile and I felt my knees weaken, so beautiful.

"Alexander Lightwood. And these are my friends. Eric Green and Magnus Bane." I shivered when he said my name and had to bite back a flirty remark. Those instincts of mine had already ruined the first time we had met at the MC club. I smiled at the grumpy looking man and walked past him as he opened the door that I had seen Seb and Doctor Condori disappear to without a trace. We walked into the mansion and I stopped, too overwhelmed by the sight in front of me.

The room was vast, like one of those ball rooms in Versailles where Louis XIV would dance around with some beautiful women. There was a huge marble staircase that led upstairs, where I supposed I and E would be looking for those documents. On the high ceiling a chandelier made out of thousands of diamonds was illuminating the dance floor. There was no other light except the blue and pink that flickered before my eyes. Along the walls there was a buffet on white tables. There was a champagne fountain and canapés of all sorts. I smelled sweet and sour and bitter and spices. I thought that all those people could not possibly eat that much. There were so many people that I was sure I would lose sight of Alec in the thick of the fray. The angel was still standing in front of me but had turned around to face me, tilting his head up a bit to look me straight in the eyes. But I couldn't concentrate, there were too many colours, too many voices and too many memories all of them invading my brain like angry soldiers. I shook my head and looked at Alec. E had gone silent beside me, I guessed he as well was admiring the view.

"C'mon we'll go greet Oscar and say happy birthday." said Alec. He had to shout a bit for me to hear him over the pounding music that was surely destroying my eardrum. It was some shitting remix. Alec took my hand and I suddenly forgot all about the music and the people, it was just Alec's hand and me. Well and E, who was not making the moment any more romantic. Alec guided me through the people and I had to thank God for making me as tall as I am. I could watch over everybody and not drown in the masses of people who were dancing and trying to chat in the room. I felt Alec pull a bit and I followed till I could see Sebastian and Doctor Condori, who were talking to a rather large man in a dark corner. Sebastian looked impressive as well, a black smoking, a white shirt, a black tie. Elegant but discreet. Raphael looked like a marshmallow beside him. His baby blue suit and little striped bow tie made him look like a giant baby, but Raphael seemed happy enough. Alec approached the men but stopped when we were in hearing distance.

"You go first." Said Alec who was still holding my larger hand in his pale one.

"Why?" It wasn't that I was shy, I just felt intimidated by all of this. It was definitely not my world. I didn't belong here.

"Because I am not important. I am here to entertain Gabriel but you are a Capo. Now go." Answered Alec and I felt a bit calmer. The boy squeezed my hand one last time and raised himself on tiptoes to give me kiss on the cheek. I felt my face getting warm and I walked toward the men without a glance back. I didn't want Alec to see me blush like an idiot. I just hoped Seb hadn't seen it. So many secrets.

"Good evening Mr. Bonato." I said and Raphael smiled at me. Seb kept silent.

Oscar Bonato was a man that celebrated his thirty one birthday and looked rather old for that age. He had a bit of a belly and a large face, his eyes were a dark brown and he had a little mustache that made him look like an Italian mafia boss. Oh, wait; he _was_ an Italian mafia boss. He had a dark skin tone, like he had spent too much time lying in the sun. It looked unnatural and reminded me of a leather saddle.

Oscar looked at me like I was a rat that had come to steal his canapés. I stretched out my hand to greet him but he ignored it and turned to Sebastian who was inspecting his fingernails with such boredom that I thought he would fall asleep right there.

"Who is that, Mr. Morgenstern?" he inquired and Sebastian smiled at him like a snake would before biting you to death.

"That, Mr. Bonato, is Magnus Bane. He has taken over the drug dealing for poor Rose. " he answered and Raphael nodded with enthusiasm. Oscar growled and took my hand in his chubby one. I smiled at his expressionless face. Great start Magnus. Mother would be so proud. I let my hand fall to the side and turned around to see if Alec was still there, but to my disappointment he had vanished into the mass of people.

"So, " said Oscar and I faced him once more. "Have you heard anything about your father?"

This time I didn't stare at him in shock but only smirked and said:" No, Mr. Bonato unfortunately not."

I didn't know that my father had been that important. I had always thought he was a mere Capo. Maybe I didn't know as much about my own family as I had always assumed.

"Well, either way, Happy birthday." I said and Sebastian looked at me. I knew that he wanted me to go do my job. I nodded and excused myself. I turned away from the little group and started to drift to the sides where I hoped I would find Alec or E. I stopped at the bar and leaned against it, looking for Alec's raven hair.

"Can I get you something Mister?" asked a female voice behind me and I shook my head, but after a second I told her to get me a glass of champagne. It wouldn't hurt to drink a bit and to calm my dry mouth while waiting for E to make an appearance. The pretty waitress gave me my glass and I took a sip. Moët & Chandon was still the best.

I raised the glass to my lips again but stopped dead in my tracks when I finally spotted Alec. But he wasn't alone. He was dancing with a handsome man that looked like a freaking bodybuilder. Strong and very muscled arms held Alec closed to his ripped body. I wanted to scream. He didn't deserve to be treated that way, like an object. I saw how Gabriel, I assumed it was him, placed his large hands over Alec's butt. The boy's face displayed disgust and discomfort and I wanted to punch Gabriel in his handsome face. But I couldn't. I needed to get this job done or else my promise to Jem could never be held. Gabriel started to kiss Alec's neck and his hands started to wander over Alec's body without ever thinking twice about it. First they went to his waist, then to his lower back, then to his ass. I watched as Gabriel started to rub the bulge in his pants against Alec's front, the boy's eyes wide open and frozen. Gabriel kissed him on his lush lips while rubbing and massaging his ass and I just wanted to –

"Magnus, there you are! I have been looking everywhere for you man!"

The annoying voice of E stopped my thoughts and made me look at the ugly boy who was also leaning against the bar now.

"You look like you have just seen a ghost." He said and I growled.

"No, I'm fine." I said and gulped the remaining champagne down in one go. E's eyes widened but he remained silent.

"Should we go?"

"Yeah" I said giving Gabriel and Alec a last glance.

I entered the study that belonged to Oscar Bonato with silent feet like a cat. As we were driving to his mansion I had looked again at the blueprint and memorized all the rooms marked with a grey cross. I knew that we had four rooms that we should concentrate on. The study, which we were standin gin right now, the bedroom, the library and the music room. I felt like I was playing Cluedo. The study had a high ceiling and loads of books that adorned the walls. There was a fireplace made out of grey stone and a large shiny table. It was all perfect. There was nothing that seemed like it hadn't been placed there. I didn't know where to start because I had never done something like this before but E seemed to feel very relaxed and calm. I heard him follow me and starting to look through the desk. I started with the books, opening every one of them and shaking them lightly hoping a top secret document would fall out of them, but with no luck. I went to turn around all of the pictures only to find a bare wall behind it.

"Anything?" I asked E who had stopped rummaging. The boy shook his head and I shrugged. We walked out and tiptoed to the next room that was situated at the very end of the hallway. I really didn't know why we were tiptoeing, because the music was still so loud that I couldn't even hear myself think. But we had to cautiously, Seb didn't hand me a gun without thinking about it. The next room we entered was the music room. There was only one thing there; a grand piano. It had a beautiful white color and for a moment I forgot all about my mission, till E pushed me into the room.

"There is nothing here." I said frustrated. I wanted to go back down and see what Alec was doing. Did that mean I was obsessed? I hoped not.

"Listen, E, I'll go downstairs again and tell Seb that we haven't found anything, alright?"

"But we haven't even looked around the other rooms yet." Whined E and I shook my head.

"I think that Oscar has cleaned up pretty thoroughly. I think that they were expecting us to come up here." I said. The study had been way too tidy; the music room didn't even have any sort of papers flying around. It was all too perfect to be natural. There were two options; One, Oscar knew Sebastian's plan or somebody had already been up here. Either way, we wouldn't find anything.

"Alright?" I asked and E nodded.

"Good, stay here hide or whatever till I come back up. I'll knock twice on the door so you'll know it's me." I said and left the boy alone, closing the heavy door behind me. I descended the staircase and started to look for the boss. I pushed people out of the way and didn't even care.

As I walked passed a woman with a beautiful red dress I saw a boy with striking blue eyes and raven hair who was lying on one of the couches. He had his eyes open and was looking up at the diamond chandelier as though it was the most amazing thing in the world. Oh my, he's drunk, I thought. I sat beside Alec and took his hand that felt very cold.

"Alec, darling? Are you all right?" I asked cautiously. One should always think about their words when dealing with a drunken person. You never know which type of drunk he is. He may be the whiney one, or the angry one. I hoped he was the one that just fell asleep.

Alec started to giggle like a five year old and looked at me with a dreamy expression on his beautiful face.

"Magnus" he said and giggled.

"That's me." I said and smiled a bit. Alec pushed himself up in a sitting position and went to stand up on shaky legs.

"Alec, where are you going darl-" I started as he stood but in a second he let himself fall back down on my lap. I gulped and looked around nervously. Please let neither Gabriel nor Sebastian or anyone from the Morgenstern Clan see me like this. I didn't really know where to place my hands and arms but seeing that Alec was falling backwards I decided to embrace him. Just for those reasons of course.

"You know Magnus" started Alec and it sounded more like 'U no 'gnus' but I smiled. He was just too adorable. "You have beautiful…" he stared at me for a second and said then "teeth".

"Well, thank you Alec that is very nice of you." I said and looked down at the boy in my arms. His jacket had been discarded and he was only wearing his white button down shirt with a loose and narrow tie. His hair was not styled anymore but looked like someone had passed their fingers through them a lot of times. I saw that the shirt was wrinkled and not buttoned properly. Damn that Gabriel bastard.

"You are also very very very very very very very nice" said Alec and I chuckled.

"Really? How so?" I asked, I might as well enjoy this while it lasts. I knew that I should be on my way to Sebastian and E but I couldn't just leave Alec here. He didn't even have Jace or Jordan to take care of him.

"Because you are beautiful and just…lovely." He said and giggled again. My eyes were glued to his lips and I had the urge to kiss him right there. But no, I couldn't.

"You think I am beautiful? Isn't that something only women can be?" I asked and Alec blushed and leaned against my chest.

"No, because you are beautiful."

"How is that an argument?"

"Because you are not a woman" the boy said and I felt his hands staring to unbutton my shirt and loosening my tie.

"Alec…?"

"What?" said the boy innocently and tried to undress me with his clumsy hands.

"What are you doing?" I asked and watched as he smiled triumphant when my fist button came undone. He moved on to the next and I knew that I had to stop him, but it felt just so good.

"I am showing you something" he said and caught his tongue between his teeth, a look of deep concentration on his flushed face.

"And what would that be, darling?" I inquired and had to chuckle when Alec fingertips brushed over my bare shoulder.

"That you are beautiful." He said like it was the most logic and normal thing in the world.

"Alright." I said and let him continue to undress me. When Alec had opened the next three buttons I took his wrists and made him stop.

"Show me now." I said, I really needed to go, but…

Alec nodded and then I died and went to heaven. His lips brushed against my tanned shoulder and he started sucking and kissing the skin. I tried to keep my eyes open but I just couldn't. Alec's hands started to touch my shoulder, than my chest and then started to unfasten my belt. There his hand started to massage my thighs and I thought that I had never felt something like that before. His velvet tongue, his hands, his body, everything made me forget all around me and it was just me and Alec. But then I remembered that reality didn't look as bright. I pushed Alec's hand away and tried to get up, but the boy was holding on to me.

"What is it? Are you mad?" he said and I felt bad for pushing him away like this. Didn't I want to kill Gabriel a second before for treating him like an object? Good job Bane.

"No, darling, it's not that, but I have to go do something." I tried to explain but Alec's pouting face was killing me.

"So, you don't like me anymore?" said Alec and I saw tears in his eyes.

"No, no, no! Alec it's not that, but I need to go and -"

But Alec was already standing on shaky legs and breathing hard.

"Then go!" he shouted and before I could say anything else he disappeared into the moving bodies. I let myself fall back and into the fluffy cushions and breathed out. This was fucked up. But I knew that right now I couldn't change what had happened so I stood back up and started to walk into the other direction in hopes of finding Seb or Raphael.

I had luck, a few minutes later I saw them standing there with Gabriel and Oscar, both of them laughing at something Seb had said. When the boss saw me, his sparkling eyes darkened and he strode towards me.

"What the hell are you doing here? Did you find it already?"

I was almost too scared to shake my head but I did it anyways.

"And why the fuck are you here then?!" roared Seb and I whispered: "Because it seemed that Oscar knew that we would be coming. It's all organized and clean, nothing there to find." I said and Seb seemed a little calmer.

"Alright, go back up and tell E to get this ass down here as well, I want to go home." said the boss and turned around to face Oscar and Gabriel again. Gabriel?! Wait, if Gabriel was here, then where was Alec? I thought that it was odd that Seb hadn't noticed it already but I guessed Alec was sleeping on one of the couches at least I hoped he was. I started to walk up the marble stairs again and went to the music room on the left. I knocked twice like I said I would but I didn't hear anything form the other side.

"E?" I said, still waiting outside in the dark hallway. I opened the door a crack and looked into the room. It was pitch black. Why would E turn off the lights? I told him to hide and yes, there wasn't much to hide behind in this room, but turning off the lights didn't help me either. I didn't know where the switch was so I started to creep in the room, the wall was my only guidance. I tried to see something with the help of the light from the hallway, but it wasn't enough.

"Eric? Are you here?" I asked and my hands glided over the cold walls of the music room. My heart was beating a mile per hour and I felt my stomach turn into a thigh knot. When I didn't get an answer I knew that something must be wrong here. And then, when I finally felt the light switch underneath my sweaty fingers, I screamed, because there was another hand already over the switch. My scream never left my lungs and I felt a cold hand press against my mouth, pressing and pressing so hard that I thought my lips would split. I felt another strong hand grip my arms and twist them behind my back so that I winced. I struggled against the grip but it was like a chain of steel. I just couldn't free myself. The attacker pushed me against the cold wall so that my face connected with the stone. I closed my eyes and breathed in and out to calm myself. I felt the man behind me starting to pat me down, till his hands stopped at my waist band. I drew in a breath as he slipped his cold fingers inside and took my father's gun away from me. Then he turned me back around and pushed me down on my knees, I was helpless against his swift movement and strong but quick hands. I have had some training for one on one combat but against this guy I was nothing. I fell to my knees and felt the attacker glide down as well. I breathed in and out and the smell that hit my nose made my eyes go wide and my heart stop. Vanilla.

"Alec?!"

**A/N: Soooooooooooooooo, I hope the wait was worth it. And I apologize for the length, it's a monster I know but I hope you survived! Anyway, did you like it, hate it? Why don't you leave a nice reviw and tell me about it? *wink* Next chapter will be up or tomorrow or on Tuesday. We'll see! BTW: thank you for the reviews you guys are really the best so keep it up… :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: WARNING: M rated stuff ahead. You'll see the lines that tell you if you should keep reading or not. Enjoy…**

**Alec PoV**

_"Alec! You're up next!" said Michael or 'Cale' as we were told to call him. He was the manager and owner of the Lovelock, one of the best and most famous strip clubs in New York City. The club had been opened in 1997 and had been passed down the line till it had been Cale's turn. The man's aged face resembled more a wrinkled bed sheet than skin but I had always known him like that; old, grumpy and everything but nice and polite. He smoked and drank a lot; sometimes he got angry and violent due to some drug that he always kept safe in his breast poked. Cale didn't have a wife; he didn't have a family to go home to, so he made the Lovelock his home and his boys his family. Officially it was a strip club, but in the deepest of the nights the drugs flowed like water through the cracks of the wet pavement of New York City. Then the club turned into the sinister world it really belonged to, and in the midst of it I struggled to not drown in the ruthless underground world of red lights and white powders. _

_I gulped and peaked through the red velvet curtain that only helped to hide my face partially from the hungry faces of my customers. I tried to smooth out any wrinkles in my outfit, although I had to admit that I didn't really have that much on in the first place. My throat was dry and I felt the ever present fear that let shivers run down my spine. My clammy hands glided over my short and very tight leather pants that clung to my skin like a second one. I guided my trembling hands up to the buttons of my nearly transparent white shirt and tried to fasten my little red tie again that I had hung clumsily around my slender neck. My outfit was called 'schoolboy', perhaps because I was the youngest working in the Lovelock. I was only sixteen years old and hadn't even finished school yet. I remembered my father's death with such sadness and grief that I was sure I would never forget that day at the white and perfectly clean hospital. The nurse had been friendly, overly so, as to tell me and my sister that it was alright, that those things happened. I was sure they did, but why to me of all people? I had cried like the baby I was, for days till one night I had woken up from my stupor and went to see if there was any food left in the fridge. There had been nothing. My mother and I, strangely enough, had reacted in the same way upon hearing of my father's passing. We had both built walls around ourselves as to protect us from the harsh and cold world outside. That hadn't worked out, but I had hoped it would. I had sat in front of the fridge and cried again, till the sun came up and my sister's face appeared beside me, hugging me and telling me that everything was going to be fine. It didn't though. The days passed and my mother didn't recover and after skipping work for over a month they decided to fire her. We were left with no money and no solution to our problems. My father's death had changed us all, but my mother was never the same as before. She kept to herself, didn't laugh and never cried till one day I decided to talk to her. The same day she got a room in the only mental hospital we could afford. It was a bad place, not anything I would have wanted for my mother's wellbeing, but we had no other choice, I didn't. I had tried to talk to my siblings, Izzy and the little boy that didn't even reach my waist. But they didn't forgive me, because I had never told them that their mother was sick. I had lied and that had been the very first of a long line that would come after. I had lied to protect them from the truth and had paid for it. _

_With no money and no mother we lived and at the same time didn't. We just survived one day after another. It hadn't been the best years of my life but I had to get through it, I owed that to my mother and father. The cancer that had taken Robert away from us had also taken my mother's life. I was left alone, with all the responsibility lying on my thin shoulders and with nothing left than a marble gravestone, a sick mother and a sister that couldn't even look me in the eyes. _

_Then the day came that I had hoped would never come. The school I had went to told me that I could no longer attend if I wasn't able to pay for it. I knew that with the little jobs I did here and there I would only be able to pay for Izzy's education but I accepted the fact that I could no longer go to school. _

_With 16 I started working for Cale and earned enough money to eat a hot meal every night. That's when I met Sebastian and Jace and Valentine._

_"Alec! Get your pretty ass down here!" shouted Cale and I jumped a little. I drew in a breath and counted to ten, slowly closing my blue eyes that Cale adored so much. I had to remind myself why I was doing this. Izzy, father, Max, mother… _

_"You know we have a very special guest today, so behave like a good boy." Whispered Cale in my ear and I had to control my trembling body. I noticed his large hands on my shoulders that were barely protected. I nodded and swallowed hard. He had told me all about the 'special guests'. "Now go and show them how nice a schoolboy can be." He said and slapped my butt hard, twice. I winced and grimaced but I had turned my back on him so Cale retreated into the shadows without ever seeing the disgust on my young face .I stepped out of the cold changing room and onto the little stage. My shoes clattered on the shiny parquet and the bright lights blinded me for a second. I blinked and everything went black around me, except me. A strong light beam illuminated my face and let the black leather shine like the skin of a seal. I heard the music start in the background and I tried to ignore the whistling and the stares of those that surrounded me and were protected by the shadows. I stared dancing slowly, moving my hips to the music and saw the first dollar notes fall onto the stage, landing softly like a feather. I started unbuttoning my transparent shirt and I heard the men roar. I hated it, but I had to do it, it was so to say, for the greater good. _

_"Come here sweetheart!" shouted a deep voice from the darkness and I shivered .The disgrace and the humiliation that came with this 'job' was something I barely accepted. But I was stripped of everything, nothing more than a toy and a pet in the hands of these powerful men. I let the silky material slip through my cold fingers and land on the floor without a sound. My chest bare and my dignity in some dusty corner I went to the smooth and bright red stripper pole that was positioned in the very middle of the wooden stage. I let myself fall down to my knees and then rose again to my feet, letting my butt caress the pole. The men hollowed and yelled at me to take off my clothes and other very barbaric things that I really didn't what to hear. I let my tongue wander over the red surface and I felt the men go wild, the room becoming hotter and hotter. More dollar notes fell around me like deep green snow. I gave them a smile and opened the first buttons of my tight and very short pants. _

_"That was the 'Little Prince' gentlemen! I hope you enjoyed the view! I surely did!" the powerful voice of Cale echoed around the room, the music slowly fading away, only the heated voices of the aroused men and my own heavy breathing filling the strip club. I bowed, but my show wasn't over. The next part would be the most difficult one. I heard the applause follow me and I gave them a last grin before hiding behind the red and heavy velvet curtain. I tried to get my breathing under control and then saw a young boy, around my age talking to Cale. He had a beautiful face, too perfect to be real. His big amber eyes were surrounded by dark lashes and his skin tone made me look like a ghost in comparison. He held his head high, not like I did; I guessed he must be Cale's son, although I doubted that someone as handsome would be the successor of such a person as Cale was. _

_I tried to hide before Cale could take a look at me but it was too late._

_"Alec, love, come here for a second." He said and I imagined an ugly and hairy spider talking to me. I walked up to him and the young boy and felt his chubby hands on my bare shoulders again. I trembled and looked down at the dark floor not wanting to look him in the eyes. _

_"Look at me, love." He said and his fat fingers reached under my chin to lift it and to make me meet his gaze. His little button eyes looked even smaller in his old and large face. "This is Jace, he will start working here as well." Told me the aged man and released my chin. I started to bite on my lower lip and raised my eyes to the teenage boy standing in front of me. While I was taller than most I didn't have a lot of muscle with my 16 years. The boy thought looked more like 17 and somehow older than me. Maybe it was because of the power and strength that rested in between his shoulder blades. I gave him a small smile and he returned it, but only for a second. I didn't believe that he'd work with me, he was too pretty to work in such a place. Yes, the Lovelock was one of the best clubs around town, but I was sure that this boy would be better suited for modelling than striping. _

_"He won't work as a dancer though" said Cale and I tilted my head to look him in the eyes. "He is the son of a friend of mine and I decided to let him start his career as a bodyguard here. I am being very generous here, Jonathan, most of my bodyguard didn't just get a free pass, you know. You are privileged. Only 15 and already working for me, that will give you some plus points." Continued Cale but I knew that Jonathan didn't really want to be here. He looked proud and I was sure he thought this was the worst idea his father had ever had. It was as though he wanted to defy his father with his stance. _

_"Yeah, great opportunity." Mumbled the boy and I had to chuckle. _

_"Well, Jonathan, this is Alexander." Said Cale and took my wrist and pulled me forward. The blond boy took my hand and shook it._

_"Jace, call me Jace." He said and I nodded and let my hands fall to the side. "The Little Prince, huh?" he said and I felt a blush spread over my pale face. Jace chuckled and turned away to leave. _

_"Yeah." I whispered more to myself than to the retreating figure of the boy that would become my best friend. _

_"Now, Alec, let's go down and greet our guest, shall we?" _

_The man didn't await my answer and took my hand again and lead my outside. We stepped out into the room and I could see Adam performing on the stage, the men whistling as they had done for me. Everything was different down here. When I was one the stage I could just blend those thirsty men out and just dance and start stripping, but when you were one of the boys that was send down to entertain some of the most important guest while admiring the view, you had to endure the comments and the hands that grabbed you and the bodies that pressed up against you. Cale guided me through the labyrinth of round and red couches. In all of them were sitting men in suits drinking and smoking, some of them with boys and men on their laps or between their knees. I looked away and was tempted to close my eyes but I would surely fall. It had happened once already, I had fallen off the stage, I was clumsy like that, and a very drunken man had caught me. I still remembered his slimy breath on my face, his hands over my crotch and his eyes on mine. Thank god there were bodyguards, or else he would have raped me right there. It hadn't only happened to me, but to other 'dancers' as well. Some nights were better than others, on New Year's Eve it was horrible. So many men and all are trying to get a piece of you. It was not a memorable day, this it lingered in the back of my mind like bitter bile. I followed Cale obediently like a little puppy running after his master and nearly bumped into his large back when he stopped abruptly. I peeked around his broad back and saw a three men sitting around the round sofa, all of them had on fine suits and expensive watches around their wrists. _

_"Mr. Morgenstern, how very nice to see you here again." Said Cale and I felt my hand breaking as he squeezed me tight. The man, Mr. Morgenstern, was not a stranger to me. I had never talked to him, but I knew that he was il Capo dei Capi, meaning he was the boss of the bosses. He was the head of the Morgenstern Clan, the most powerful of New York City. _

_Valentine Morgenstern was a broad and muscled man. He was very tall and was all angles and strength. His short and nearly white blond hair seemed even brighter in the shadows of the Lovelock, his eyes even darker than they already were. He had a strong jaw and I could see the lines on his face that were proof of his lifestyle. I glanced at the other two men beside him and saw that one was older than Mr. Morgenstern. He had a large belly and a little mustache. I gulped and tried to hide again, I didn't want to pleasure any of them, but I knew that that was my job. _

_Valentine didn't smile and just nodded._

_"And you also gentlemen, Mr. Bari and Mr…?"_

_The one spoken to had dark hair and a big nose. His eyes were small and gave him the look of a mouse in the body of an elephant. He didn't look Italian but not North American either. He looked like the typical mafia boss from Russia. _

_"Mr. Zhirov" said the man with a thick accent. Bingo, Russian. _

_"Lovely to see you all tonight. If I may ask" said Cale and turned to Valentine again "is this a special occasion?"_

_"A good deal and my son retuning from his stay in England." said the blond man. Cale nodded and gave them a warm smile._

_"Well, I guess he must be a grown man already." He said and Valentine shrugged looking bored._

_"He is 19 to be exact, in three months he'll be 20." _

_Cale nodded again and I saw his fat double chin vibrate as he laughed. _

_"I hope you will return to Lovelock to celebrate."_

_"Yeah, maybe" said Valentine and tried to look behind Cale to take a look at me. "Who is that?" he said. He didn't sound angry or stern, but more like dog owner that wanted to pet his animal. I jumped as Cale pushed me forward with such force that I nearly fell on top of the men. Clae's hand still held me by my elbow possessively and helped me to stand straight. My back was pressed to his belly and I felt him breathe in and out heavily like a big wale. I saw the men smirk and Valentine devour me with his eyes. The Russian man licked over his lip and I wanted to run away and vomit or die. _

_"That, my dear gentlemen" Cale said and his hands caressed my bare shoulders that seemed to have frozen "is the 'Little Price', isn't he a beauty?"_

_I watched as the men eyed me as though I was a horse that they needed to inspect before buying it. I saw one of them, the younger one, nod satisfied and Valentine smirk like the devil himself. _

_"My, he _isss_ beautiful." Breathed the Russian man and I gulped, my body trembling as though little electro shocks were send through my veins with every of my heart beats. _

_"Yes, he is just 16 years old, very fresh, if you know what I mean."_

_Even though I had my back turned to Cale I knew he had winked, because the men's glances traveled down my body, over my naked torso to my waist and finally rested on my crotch. _

_"Turn him around." Ordered Valentine and in a second I was breathing in sweat and too sweet and cheap vanilla cologne. My hands laid on Cale's stomach and my face was buried in his chest. I closed my eyes and heard the men talk._

_"Nice" said one of them, and I thought he must be a little younger than Valentine, who seemed fairly young still, even with 45. _

_"Oчень хорошо" said the Russian man and although I didn't understand a word he just said I was sure I wouldn't like it. I heard someone get up and pressed my eyes closed, I hated it to be exposed like that. _

_A cold and big paw like the one of a tiger touched my ass and squeezed lightly. _

_"Hm…He smells good…" I heard Valentine whisper in my ear, one hand on my ass and the other around my waist. "We will take good care of him, Michael." Said the tall and strong man and I opened my eyes wide when I felt Cale leave me alone with those men. _

_"Cale!" I shouted but the owner of the Lovelock didn't turn around._

_"It's okay little one, we won't hurt you." Said Valentine, still holding me close to him so it was impossible for me to escape from his clutches. He dragged me towards the round velvet couch and sat down before I could._

_"Take off your clothes." Said il Capo dei Capi but I was petrified. Yes, I had done this before already, but never with so many men all at once. I knew that that would just be the beginning. _

_"C'mon Prince, dance for us."_

_And with that said Valentine leaned back and raised a glass to his fine lips, taking a sip of the golden liquid that was moving around the ice cubes. I nodded stiffly but said after a second with a tiny voice: "There is no music."_

_Valentine snorted but held up his hands and not a second later a waiter came running towards us with flying apron. _

_"Yes, Mr. Morgenstern? What can I get you? Any more champagne or maybe some other drink?" The waiter was so out of breath that it sounded a lot like the word from the Russian man. Valentine raised his eyebrows and didn't even grace the waiter with a look, his eyes on me. _

_"Tell Cale that I want some music." He said and the waiter nodded but before he could disappear again Valentine continued with a deep and dangerous voice. "And tell my son to come, the spectacle is about to begin and I don't want him to miss it for the world." _

_I didn't want to believe it, there was one more to come? Weren't three of them enough? Valentine gave me a smirk._

_I was standing in front of the three men, with my chest bare and very short leather shorts. I was about to put the red tie down but Valentine's voice stopped me from doing so._

_"Don't. I like it when I have something to hold on to."_

_I think I died right there beneath the critical eyes of the bosses of the most powerful mafia clans. The waiter came back after what felt like an eternity. _

_"Cale says that he'll put on some music for you sir. And your son is outside smoking but he says he'll come back inside as soon as possible."_

_Valentine nodded and the waiter left giving me a pitiful look. I hated pity. I didn't want it, not from my sister, not from Jonathan and surely not from a waiter whom I didn't even know. _

_"Perfect." Smiled Valentine and when the Russian man whispered something in his ear his grin widened and he nodded. I felt more than worthless, but if that was what I had to do to help my family then so be it. I'll overcome all obstacles to help them and these men wouldn't break me. No one could. _

_When I heard the song _Skin_ from Rihanna start to pound in my eras my heart beat even faster and it felt like a little bird was trapped in my ribcage. _

_"You got music now so, dance." Said Valentine. The last words had been spoken in a deep and husky voice like he couldn't wait anymore. I nodded again too afraid that my voice would break if I used it now. My body was on edge, my muscles were tight and my throat had closed around my neck like a snake, suffocating me and making stars appear in my mind's eye. I began to move my hips and then I closed my eyes and got to my knees. My fingers disheveled my raven hair even further and I swayed to the rhythm of the music. I got up again and opened my eyes to see all of the men entranced, their eyes fixated on me like I was a coffin full of sparkling gold. _

_"Undress." I heard Valentine and so I did. I started to slip my pants down over my ass and turned around for them to see it perfectly. I felt hands on the swell of my ass and let the leather pants fall to the ground. I stepped out of them and caressed my own body, my feet following the music like a zombie. I wasn't feeling anything anymore, I wasn't hot and I wasn't cold. I wasn't even Alec anymore. Now I was just the ' Little Prince' and that was fine with me. I didn't see Valentine's cold eyes or the Russian flustered red face, but my sister and my little brother Max. They were sitting on the red velvet sofas and watching me as I stripped for them. It was grotesque and disgusting really, to be doing this in front of my family, to be moving my hips and arms that way. But somehow I felt safe, like I knew they wouldn't hurt me or judge me if I did something wrong. I looked at my little brother, his glasses on his little nose, a manga in his right hand and a smile that would have made the angels jealous. My eyes drifted to my sister. My beautiful Isabelle. She looked exactly like my mother except for the ice blue eyes. She had strong chocolate brown eyes that sparkled in the lights that were reflected on the shiny surface of the stage. She looked proud, not because of me, but because she was doing so well in school, having the best grades. I knew that it was just happening in my head that it was not really, because my sister and brother would never look at me that way, not after what they thought I had done to my mother. _

_I closed my eyes again and my family disappeared leaving me standing there alone in only my crimson briefs at the mercy of these men. The song ended and so did my performance, I knew that they wouldn't be satisfied but I hoped that I wouldn't have to pleasure all of them._

_I heard Valentine applaud but it sounded like laughter in my ears, mocking the boy that thought he was worth anything. _

_"Well, well, well, you are something." said the blond haired man while staring at my chest that was rising and falling softly as my blood began to run cold again. _

_"Come here, love" he said and looked down on his lab where I could see a bulge forming already. And it looked huge. I swallowed past the lump in my throat and walked to the couch, their hungry eyes following me. I sat down on the man's warm lap and when he leaned back again so did I so that my face was pressed into his clothed shoulder._

_"Hm…you really do smell nice, boy." murmured the boss, his nose in my hair, breathing in my smell. At the Lovelock, we always tried to look the best as possible to please our high paying customers. The smell was something important as well. Cale had told me that I needed to use the same cologne as his, so I too, smelled like cheap vanilla. I was sure that once I was out of this hell hole, I'd never eat or drink anything that smelled a bit like that hated odor. It reminded me of everything I wanted to get away from. _

_"When can we have him?" said the other man, the younger one and I shuddered. Valentine seemed to have noticed this because he embraced me protectively and said then: "When I think you should."_

_It was like watching children fight over some toy. Too bad I was the one being pushed around. _

_I sensed the man tense but I knew he wouldn't say anything; the word of the boss was above everything. I felt Valentine move one hand underneath my ass and began to rub over my briefs that I had still on. _

_"Do you like that?" he asked me and I nodded, I had to. What I really wanted or thought was not interesting anyway so why mention it? I kept quiet and played the obedient pet and hoped I would have to fuck all of them. _

_"What about this?" whispered Valentine in my ear and before I could answer he had lifted me as though I was a feather and sat me down again. I was now straddling his lap, both of my legs touching the back of the sofa. My eyes were on the same level as his mouth and I could see him smirk._

_"Yes" I tried to speak a bit louder but it was nearly impossible without my voice breaking. Valentine chuckled darkly and drew me closer to him so that my crotch was rubbing against the bulge in his fine suit. _

_"Hm…" he breathed and closed his eyes._

_"Get out, both of you!" he roared suddenly so that I jumped a bit, rubbing my lower regions against his so that his eyelids flattered closed. _

_"But Valentine w-" started the young man but Valentine didn't listen._

_"Out!" he yelled again and the men scrammed. With a last and very long look the Russian left also. Now I was alone with the boss and I had never been so scared in my life. Valentine didn't seem to notice and leaned forward again to capture my lips with his and whisper against them:" You taste as good as you smell love." _

_I didn't want to reply anything so I kept silent. Valentine opened his eyes and I was face to face with him. Our noses nearly touching._

_I saw the corners of his fine lips rise and heard him chuckle again._

_"Undress me little one." He ordered and I obeyed without thinking twice about it. I started to unbutton his light blue shirt but when I wasn't fast enough for Valentine he pushed my hands away and did it himself. When his chest was as naked as mine I couldn't but look down at him. He was a man with 45 years but his body looked like 30. He had pale skin but his chest was well defined and his abs moved under his smooth skin when he sat up a bit._

_"What are you thinking about?" he murmured against my cheek, giving me little kisses and cherishing me like I was his beloved when really all I was, was a toy and a pet. _

_"Nothing" I whispered and he laughed again, throaty and dark that it resembled a bark and I felt it vibrate through his body and sending shiver up to mine. _

_"My little pet, did I tell you to stop?"_

_I shook my head and started to unfasten his Hermes belt and while doing that I thought about all the things I could by with selling one of those. They were worth a fortune, maybe half a year worth of food. When I was finished Valentine praised me like I was a kitten or something. It was disgusting. When my fingers started to undo his pants he stopped me again and I thought that he'd do it again, but Valentine just smirked and said:" Why don't you use your mouth, love?"_

_Did he want me to undo his pants with my mouth? How was that even possible? I opened my mouth with a confused look on my face but Valentine interrupted me harshly._

_"I said do it!" he shouted and I felt my eardrums rip apart like a fine sheet of paper. I nodded and went down on my knees so that my eyes were lined up with his bulge. I took a deep breath and started to undo his pats with my teeth. It was hard as first but after the first button I got the knack of it. My position was very compromising, my hands on his inner thighs to help hold me up over his crotch. I heard Valentine sigh happily and I hoped after a BJ he'd have enough. I caught the zipper between my lips and pulled it down to release Valentines erection. Well, it was still in his briefs but I felt the man breathe out like he had just gone to the bathroom after a two day long wait. He patted me on the head, disheveling my black hair and looked down at me with heavy eyelids. _

_"Well done little one." He said and pulled me up to him again. He pressed his lips against mine and his tongue penetrated my mouth like a spear. It wasn't a sensual dance, but more like a massacre. He bit down on my lip, his saliva melting with mine and I was tempted to spit it out in his face. _

_"Hm...tasty" he muttered against my neck. He had my red tie in his left hand and was pulling me on top of him again so that my knees where on either side of him again._

**_(A/N: The M rated material starts here, if you don't want to read it for whatever reasons just go done till the next line. If not, enjoy ;) )_**

_"Blow me." He ordered me again and I knew that what I didn't want to happen would eventually happen. I just didn't want to see reality. I nodded again and felt like an idiot, but before I could climb back down Valentine stopped me and said: "Take off your clothes. Leave the tie. " _

_I gulped my mouth dry but nodded in agreement and slipped down the last protection I had left. I felt Valentine's hungry eyes on me, devouring me with his look. I wanted to go down on my knees but the man took me by my wrist and held me close to him. "Turn around" he said and I did so that my bare behind was sitting on the man's lap. "Hand me the tie." He murmured like he was deep in thought. I gave him the narrow red tie and a second later I couldn't move my hands anymore. The bastard had tied them behind my back! _

_"Now I want you to blow me, without your knees on the floor." I heard him say in my right ear. His hands were holding me by my waist. I wanted to turn around and give him a WTF look, but I didn't. How the hell should I do that? Did he want me to fly? But then just as I was about to open my mouth to ask it dawned on me. _

_"The 69?" I asked helpless and I felt Valentine's hands travel down to my limp member. _

_"Yes, my prince." He said and I shuddered. I had done that only once and it wasn't a happy memory. The guy had been disgustingly old and had smelled like burned cheese. _

_"Go ahead." Said the mafia boss and I gulped but did it anyways. Valentine leaned back and allowed me to climb over him. My body was lying over his but we weren't perfectly aligned. My face was pressed against the bulge in his briefs but my ass was resting on his shoulders, my cock lying between his pectorals. "Suck" ordered the man beneath me and now I really felt like a little kitten. I pushed his fine cashmere briefs away and let his red and pulsing cock breathe. I had been right, it _was_ huge. I swallowed and my eyes widened but I started to lick his cock anyways. I couldn't use my hands, because they were still tied behind my back. I felt Valentine hand on my ass, one of them gliding through the crack over and over. "Suck." He said again, a little more breathless now. I knew I couldn't take it all in my mouth at once so I started to lick the tip and slowly took him in up to the hilt. Valentine sighed and massages my butt with his big hands. I shivered and started to bob my head up and down. My neck was already hurting form the awkward position I was in, but I had to bear it. "That's nice, keep going." Said Valentine beneath me and his finger started to play with my hole. I wanted to tell him to fuck off but I had a huge cock in my mouth so that was kind of impossible. The penis was getting larger and larger and soon I felt as though it wouldn't fit anymore. My jaw and neck were hurting and slowly I felt my cock erect as well. Valentine had closed his eyes and had left my cock alone, but with one hand he parted my ass cheeks and with the other he played around my hole, never entering it though. I bobbed my head, up and down, up and down, while my wrist and back burned. _

_"Stop" said Valentine suddenly and I let the penis slip out of my mouth. Precum and saliva were dripping from the tip and I thought that Valentine must be about to explode judging by the deep purple color. _

_"Turn around" he said but I didn't have the strength to get up. My eyes were watering and my wrist and arms hurt like hell. With an annoyed grunt Valentine lifted me so I was straddling his lap again. My semi erect cock against his purple one. Valentine smirked and said then:" Ride my thigh" _

_I nodded and slipped down to his clothes thigh. I put one leg on either side of it and began rubbing myself hard on his leg. _

_"What a slut, you love it don't you, little one?" he murmured in my ear and I nodded. I felt my cock harden against my will but I couldn't do anything against it. Cale made us take Viagra to help us 'rise and shine' as he said. _

_"Ride me harder, love, harder." He said and his hands were on my hips helping me move forward and backwards. "You little slut, how hard does it make you?" he asked me but I couldn't answer anymore, I was really erect now. _

_"Tell me" ordered Valentine, his hand on my cock, rubbing it slowly in the rhythm of my movements. _

_"Very hard, very hard." I whispered and I heard Valentine chuckle. He took his hand away and told me to stop and open my eyes._

_"Look what you have done to my expensive pants." He said and I looked down on the precum that was spread over his thigh. I blushed a bit but the man caressed my cheek with his warm hand and said then:" Lick it clean again. And don't go down on your knees." _

_I hated the 69 position more than anything and with my hands still tied together I _really_ hated it. But I nodded and climbed over the boss again, his erection in my face. My tongue darted out and I licked my own cum from his thigh. I felt bile rising in my throat but I clenched my teeth together and tried to just get it over with. I heard a slap on my ass that send tears to my eyes and I just wanted to go home and away from this horrible man._

_"That's enough" snapped Valentine and I hoped that I would soon be released. But I had no luck. Valentine pushed me up again and turned me around so I was facing his handsome face again. _

_"My little beautiful prince" he murmured and I knew what I had to do now. "I want your ass" whispered Valentine and his hands went to hold my butt. He caressed my cheeks while kissing me with passion. With a swift movement I felt his finger penetrate my hole and I winced a bit. He hadn't even used lotion. Valentine looked down at my face and smirked. "Sot tight" he breathed._

_I shivered as he slid in another two finger at ones. "I want my whole fist in your hole." _

_Well, I surely didn't, it would rip me apart. But I didn't say anything and just whimpered a bit more, my eyes closed and my face pressed against his naked chest. _

_"Bend your legs" he commanded._

_My spread legs bend in such a way that I could push myself up a bit further, my bare feet resting on Valentine's hips. He smiled and looked down at my exposed crotch and ass. His fingers still inside he began to fuck me mumbling things in my ear that made me go hard even though I didn't want to. He slipped in another finger and I nearly lost it, but Valentine took something out of his pocket and then I felt cold metal warp around my straining erection. I opened my eyes in shock and looked down at the silver cockring._

_"But -" I started but the boss shut me up with a kiss on my lips. His fingers began to slide in and out with more speed and I couldn't hold it anymore as I reached my climax, but of course I didn't find relief. My cock was the same purple colour as Valentine's. The man smirked and whispered in my ear:" Get on top of me" _

_My cock was hurting and my hands were about to fall off due to the restrains but I only did what I was told. I was too weak to get on top of him by myself and after a few seconds of struggling Valentine saw that as well. He took me by the hips and helped me lower myself over his cock. He didn't do it slowly thought so with one go I had taken the whole cock. _

_"Your hole is so greedy, it swallowed me in one go." He said but I was in too much pain to hear him. I was sure I was bleeding on the inside. The boss didn't leave me time to recover and started to move me up and down on his penis. _

_"Move your hips." He ordered._

_I tried to move them but I was sure I was about to faint. Valentine did it himself then and with every stroke he went in a bit deeper. His massive cock impaled me like a spear and I nearly screamed. After a minute of thrusting hard into me he realised me from my cockring and together we reached our climax. I broke down on, his penis still deep inside of me. His chest was rising and falling heavily and I was as thirsty as thought I had just run a marathon. "Lick it clean." Said Valentine, his voice still strong. I couldn't move anymore, my hands and arms were hurting so much that I was sure I'd never be able to use them again. I got up with shaky legs and kneed down between his thighs. I took his limp cock in my mouth and gave it a strong suck to get it clean. Valentine patted me when I had finished and told me to dress him again. I did and while I was at it his fingers never left my body, touching my nipples and fingering my hole as I bent down to get his shoes. Valentine once he was dressed again stood up and told me to stand up as well. I was still kneeling on the floor in front of him, naked and with cum dripping out of my hole. _

**_A/N : Safe again , yay!_**

_"I want you to meet my son." He said and my eyes widened. Why would I be worth it to meet someone like his son? I tried to get up but my legs wouldn't carry me anymore. Valentine snorted and grabbed me by my shoulders to help me stand. I was still naked but my hands were finally free again. Valentine handed me a black silk robe that had the Lovelock logo on the side; a golden lock with a pink heart shaped key. I slipped it on and followed him outside our little corner. My feet were bare and we were heading outside which meant that I would probably freeze to death. I saw Jace talking to the waiter but I had no time to greet him, because Valentine was already pulling me with him. He opened the backdoor and we stepped outside the strip club. The cold autumn air was really chilling me to death. I was naked underneath the fine robe. I followed Valentine around the corner and I saw a boy there, smoking a cigarette and texting on his iPhone. He didn't look up when we approached him, my feet making no sound on the freezing cement. _

_"Sebastian!" yelled Valentine and I jumped a little. The boy or better said the young man, looked up and I could see that he was Valentine's son. He had the same blond hair, the same strong jaw and the same cold eyes. But his didn't hold boredom like his father's, his were very curious and alive, lit with the burning flame of life. His gaze looked with mine but I didn't feel fear. _

_"Where you here the whole time?" asked Valentine and Sebastian shrugged with his broad shoulders. I felt his eyes wander down my body and I shivered._

_"Dad, get him some shoes, will ya?" he said, his voice not as harsh as his father's. Valentine looked down at my bare feet and growled. _

_"We won't stay long. I just wanted you to meet Alec, he has treated me _very _well today." He said and grabbed my ass. I smiled but lowered my eyes to the floor that was full of red and yellow leaves. _

_"Yeah I bet." said Sebastian. It didn't sound like he had a good relationship to his father. I saw him light another cigarette and breathe out the smoke slowly through his mouth as if savoring the taste. Sebastian turned to look at me and smiled a bit._

_"Do you want to try?" he said and I shook my head. I didn't like cigarettes they reminded me too much of Cale. Valentine patted my head and his fingers combed through my hair. _

_"I'll go pay Cale, all right? You stay here with him." Said Valentine and disappeared before I could say anything. It was normal to follow the men that I pleasured outside till they took off but it was not normal to meet relatives. Sebastian smirked and I blushed a bit. He was really handsome I had to admit it._

_"So, your Alec?" he asked me and I nodded._

_"Can you talk or are you mute?" he said and my cheeks colored an even angrier shade of red. I was embarrassed couldn't he see that?_

_"Yes, I'm Alec." I said slowly and saw his eyebrows rise. But he didn't reply anything and just kept smoking his cigarette. _

_"And you work here?" he continued. _

_"Yes." I said before swallowing. This was not the way I wanted to meet a very handsome young man. Sebastian nodded to himself and began to play with his car keys that were resting in this left hand. _

_"Did you have sex with my father?" he asked me and I nodded. He must have been disgusted with me. But Sebastian threw the smoke away and turned to look at me. I had to tilt my head a bit to look him in the eyes. _

_"I'm sorry that you had to go that." He said "if you ever need anything, tell me." _

_I looked at him in surprise but nodded after a few seconds. _

_"You must be cold." Murmured Sebastian but I shook my head._

_"It's fine." I said even though a blind person could see that I was trembling. Sebastian smirked and slit out of his expensive leather jacket and before I could say anything else he pressed it into my shaking hands._

_"Go ahead, put it on." He said._

_"I can't, this is too much."_

_But Sebastian wouldn't listen and just kept looking at me. After a minute I put the jacket on and loved the warmth that spread through my body again. _

_"Come here." He said but kindly and with a very nice smile, so different from his father. I stepped closer to the young man and when my chest was nearly touching his, his hands came to my waist and he pulled me up and then lowered me down again so that my cold feet were resting on his leather shoes. This close to him I could feel his heartbeat, feel his breath on my face and his warmth. I didn't know where to look so I decided to look at his chest. I heard him chuckle and I raise my eyes to meet his._

_"What is it?" I asked with a tiny voice._

_"Nothing" he said but smiled warmly. I felt his hands in the pockets of my silk robe and thought that I had never felt so safe. _

_"Let's go Seb!" I jumped when I heard Valentine's voice roar behind us. I jumped off his shoes and onto the cold floor again. I grimaced and Sebastian leaned down to whisper in my ear:" I hope I'll see you again Alec. And sorry for what my father has done to you." _

_I wanted to thank him but they were already getting inside a black limousine. Valentine gave me a last kiss on the lips and disappeared behind the dark glasses of the luxury car. I saw them drive away and felt lonely and cold again. As I made my way back to the Lovelock I pushed my hands inside of the pockets of my robe. I stopped in my tracks and took out what Sebastian must have placed in them when he was embracing me._

_600 Dollars. _

**A/N: Well that was..I dunno, why don't YOU tell me? I hope you liked it, pleaseeeeeeeeee review! If I were Winnie de Pooh your reviews would be honey for me ;) LOOOOOOOOOVe you my little readers! Next chapter I will reveal a bit more about Alec's little lies… **


	7. Chapter 7

Alec PoV

"Hey, you." said a deep voice behind me. I knew who it was; it was my _job_ for tonight. Well, the job Seb gave me, not my real one.

I ran my hands down my dark blue tuxedo and tried to look nervous and anxious. That was the role I had to play; little Alec who cannot defend himself. What a joke.

I felt his big and warm hand on my shoulder turning me around to face him. Gabriel Bonato was nothing like his brother, who seemed more like an inflated balloon with a mustache. Gabriel on the other hand had more muscle than your average personal trainer. He had light brown hair that was cut very short which made him look like a grown up baby. It was creepy. He had green eyes that looked at me with an undying hunger that made my skin scrawl and my eyes wander to hip lips which were pursed as if he was unhappy with the whole situation. He was a bit shorter than me, which was fantastic. I let my gaze capture his and smiled a bit. What an actor, Alec, what an actor.

"Yes?" I tried to ask in the most polite voice that I had. I needed to see were Magnus was going with the little rat E. Too bad that I couldn't just look around and do my job, no fucking Sebastian wanted me to 'entertain' Gabriel Bonato. Gabriel didn't return my smile he just kept looking at me like I was a delicious turkey on Christmas Eve that he needed to devour. I rubbed my hands on my things to make it look like I was in desperate need to get away from him. I needed Magnus to see this, to see me before going through Bonato's mansion, that way he would never suspect anything.

"You Alec Lightwood?" he asked again with this voice which seemed to come directly from the underground sewers. I nodded and turned around to look if Magnus was watching us. No beautiful man. Damn.

"That's me." I laughed nervously, what a show, and looked down on my black and shiny shoes.

"I'm Gabriel Bonato." He said and I had to stop my mouth from moving and telling him that he should just go fuck himself. But no, tonight I was Alec Lightwood. But I would also be Rocco.

"Nice to meet you Gabriel. Do you live here as well?" I said trying to make some small talk till Magnus the moron decided to show up.

Gabriel shook his head and came closer to me and whispered in my ear: "For you, I'd live everywhere."

I had bile rising up my throat. Was that really, seriously a pick up line now? Was he fucking kidding me now? Gabriel, who was obviously drunk, smelled like an ashtray mixed with beer. Not a nice combo let me tell you. I tried to step back a bit but Gabriel followed me grinning like an idiot. Well, to be fair, he _was_ an idiot. The muscled man had his eyes closed and I watched as his mouth came closer to mine, all in slow mo. By then I was pretty sure that his muscles had damaged his brain in some way.

"You so…ssssexy." He slurred and with the long 's' there was also spit coming out of his mouth. What a freak. I rolled my eyes and turned around to see if the great Magnus decided to grace me with his-

Yes! There he was, leaning against the bar with a champagne glass in his hand. He looked good, I had to admit that. I saw him look around the room, and I prayed to God that he was looking for me. Showtime. I grinned to myself like a badass in a bad Western movie and kissed Gabriel full on his mouth. As I had thought ; no resistance. He was way too easy. I kissed and kissed and closed my eyes when I noticed Magnus' ones on me. Gabriel drew me in and his hands found my back and then my ass which he tried to massage but felt more like acupuncture. I felt his kisses travel down my neck and I tried to look disgusted and not happy about the situation, which I was. Everything was going like planned. I knew Magnus was still watching us but I couldn't risk it him seeing that I was watching him. Gabriel's strong arms held me close to his body that seemed to be made out of steel, only that he was boiling hot. His sweaty front left shiny traces on my neck and I just wanted to go already. I had done my job already as Rocco while Magnus had been talking to Oscar and now I just needed to see that Magnus and E wouldn't find anything of importance. I noticed Gabriel's front rubbing against mine and I couldn't contain a sigh. Really? Really that primitive? I slowly opened my eyes and saw that the bar was empty. Perfect. I tried to wiggle out of Gabriel's embrace but the drunken man didn't let me go. I rolled my eyes again, this was all very tiresome, and let my knee fly to his groin. I didn't even turn around to see his hurt face. I walked to the other staircase which was mainly for the usage of staff and looked at Sebastian one last time. My savior that needed to learn his lesson. It wasn't revenge, it was teaching. I climbed up the steps very quickly and on my tiptoes to be sure no one heard me. There were no man left to guard the doors, I had made sure of that. I had come up here when no one was looking and even if they were, they only saw a cute little boy that wouldn't hurt a fly. Well, too bad that not everything is as it seems. I had walked to the same rooms Magnus and E were going now, I had opened the same drawers and I had taken that what they were still searching for. Seb was a fool to be sending Magnus and that little ugly rat E. They were way too naïve to get the job done. My hands went to my waistband and my fingertips brushed over the papers that were hidden underneath. I had to smile, Rocco had been brilliant tonight. Angelo would thank me. I came to a halt behind a sculpture of a naked woman that was holding a golden cup. Not cheesy at all, no.

Her eyes were dead and her movements frozen like ice. I touched the cool marble statue and stared at her once beautiful face, now carved in stone it seemed unnatural and out of place. She reminded me a bit of my mother. A beautiful shell with no soul and dead eyes. And forgotten, of course forgotten. All of those standing still will be forgotten. I drew in a breath when I heard the first door open. I hid behind the statue and watched as Magnus and E made their way to the music room. I had to smirk when I saw Magnus tiptoeing. He looked clumsy and out of his element like a bear in a circus. The door opened and the golden light spread over darkness like water over a rock. I didn't know if I should risk it to come closer and them seeing me or if I should just stay where I was. I wanted to hear what they were talking about though. I breathed in one more time and walked smoothly like a panther over the floor that barely muffled the loud music from the great hall. As I came closer to the music room I could make out Magnus' and E's voice.

"…I think that Oscar has cleaned up pretty thoroughly. I think that they were expecting us to come up here." I heard Magnus lovely voice say. I had to smile, it was just too perfect. It was nothing against Magnus, I liked him, but this was my job that I had to get done for Angelo. No feelings allowed. Sebastian had to learn his lesson like I had learned mine.

"Alright?" asked Magnus and I wondered what they had been talking about earlier.

"Good, stay here hide or whatever till I come back up. I'll knock twice on the door so you'll kn-." When I heard Magnus' feet approaching the door I sprinted down the dark hallway. Good that I knew this place like the back of my hand. I hid again behind the statue and saw Magnus disappear. Shit, he was going downstairs! What the –

I named Magnus a few very nice and friendly things underneath my breath and then ran down the stairs that had previously brought me here. I saw Magnus push people out of the way like a real tough guy but I had no time to think. I needed to get creative, fast. I had no time to search for Gabriel or Seb so I did the only thing that would seem just as ordinary. I played drunk. I threw myself on one of the couches on the sides and took off my jacket and threw it somewhere and loosened my tie. My hands found their way to my hair and I tried to make it look like I had been making out with Gabriel for hours. I buttoned my shirt wrong in the middle and started to look up at the ugly ass chandelier that was illuminating the vast room

I knew how to act out a role, but this time it would be much harder. It was Magnus after all. My dreamy gaze didn't follow Magnus form as the man made his way towards me. I felt my heart beat speed up a bit and wondered briefly why I was nervous. I was just acting, right? Magnus sat down beside me and took my cool hand into his warm one.

"Alec, darling? Are you all right?" I heard him say cautiously as if entering a cage with a fire spitting dragon inside. Well I'd play along. I had to.

I started to giggle like a baby and giggled some more and said finally: "Magnus" I felt stupid and even more like a new born when Magnus smiled warmly down at me and said : "That's me."

God, that smile. I needed to get away from him, fast; I needed to see if E had found anything in the meantime. I stood up and tried to be as shaky as possible. But then I looked down on this beautiful green eyes man and thought and I just couldn't resist. Now was the best time to…you know…

"Alec, where are you going darl- "he started but I sat down on his lap and that made him shut up. Up close his face was even more beautiful. His high cheekbones drew shadows over his face; his lashes were dark as the night and just as long as one in winter. I looked into his hypnotising green –golden eyes and was sure I could get lost in them. Those lips, those perfect teeth, those – I let myself fall backwards a bit and after a few seconds of hesitation I felt Magnus' arms keeping me in place. His lean body was warm and I just wanted to forget Rocco and Alec and just be the boy with fifteen when my parents had been alive, when I had been alive.

"You know Magnus" I said and tried to forget about that past life, it was long gone. "You have beautiful…" shit, why was I talking? I should be knocking E out and going through his things. Instead I was sitting on Magnus' lap like a pole dancer…Damn.

"Teeth." I decided that it would be the less awkward thing to say. Even though I really wanted to say something else.

"Well, thank you Alec that is very nice of you" he said and I felt respect for him. Not a lot of people would have been so polite and friendly to a drunken man that seemed like an easy prey. Valentine didn't think about it twice, Sebastian didn't either but Magus held me in his arms without hunger or lust, just like he was guarding something important. Respect. One of the most needed and most scarce things in the world.

"You are also very very very very very very very nice" I didn't know why I said that, well I did, because he was, but… I was confused by my own actions, was that weird? I heard him chuckle and I nearly melted.

"Really? How so?"

"Because you are beautiful and just…lovely " I giggled but didn't feel as stupid as I did before. I was rather enjoying myself and I saw that Magnus was too.

"You think I am beautiful? Isn't that something only women can be?" He asked me and actually blushed! I didn't really want to answer him, because I had just embarrassed myself so I leaned against his chest and felt his warmth heat me up.

"No, because you are beautiful" I mumbled but it didn't really help my situation. I was drawn between walking away and doing what I was supposed to be doing and staying here in Magnus' arms.

"How is this an argument?" I heard him say and his voice vibrated in his chest.

"Because you are not a woman" I said with a final tone. I knew I wasn't making any sense but what the hell, I was drunk, right? I started unbuttoning his shirt and loosening his tie. Now that I was playing I wanted to see till where I could go. Would he still be so respectful when I'd start kissing him? Was I really testing him?

"Alec…?" I heard him say, his voice sounding unsecure and anxious.

"What?" I asked innocently and tried to unbutton his shirt with clumsy hands, even though I could have done that in a second if I needed to.

"What are you doing?" What a stupid question, Magnus. I smiled like a retard when I had my fist button undone.

"I am showing you something." I said instead of the 'I_ am backing a fucking cake for my grandma, that's what I'm doing_' that was at the tip of my tongue.

"And what would that be, darling?" I brushed with my cool fingertips over his bare shoulder and watched him chuckle like a cute teddy bear.

"That you are beautiful." I still don't know how that came out of my mouth so naturally, perhaps because it was true. He was a very beautiful man, but over everything he was a _good_ man. With a good heart and a good soul who had ended up working for the mafia. I didn't know why Magnus did work for Seb, but I just hoped that he had a good reason. Just like me. Even though I didn't really work for Seb.

"Alright" he said and let me be. I continued to undress him excruciatingly slow and jumped a bit when he took my wrist with his warm hands.

" Show me now."

I nodded, my throat dry. I leaned down and kissed his tan shoulder. His smooth skin felt soft underneath my fingertips. My tongue stroked over his skin and I felt him shiver. Then, like driven by the devil, my hands went to undo his Hermes belt. I itched to touch him everywhere but settled for his sturdy thighs and let my hands caress his legs like it was the most important thing on earth. Suddenly the room felt so much hotter like the air had been sucked out of the room, letting me slowly suffocate. Too many memories flooded in my head with the force of a tsunami. I saw myself in the same position as now, just undressed and with a few bruises on my neck and not a handsome man but an ugly old fart. I was actually glad when Magnus pushed me away. I thought I was about to burst into pathetic tears.

"What is it? Are you mad?" I knew I needed to keep this charade up.

"No, darling, it's not that, but I have to go do something." Of course I knew what he needed to do. E was waiting for him in the music room. I still pouted a bit.

"So, you don't like me anymore?" I said and hated my whiney voice. I felt tears in my eyes but decided that I didn't want them gone. Why do I always have to be strong? And it was a very dramatic effect. I looked away from Magnus for a second and saw a huge man in black climbing up the stairs. Shit! I really needed to go!

"No, no, no! Alec it's not that, but I need to go and -"

But I was standing up on my 'shaky' legs and just shouted "Then go!" And turned around to run up the stairs. I needed to get to E before Bonato's man did. What if they did find something more than I did? I felt the papers in my waistband and was sure that I had gone through everything. If Bonato's man found E… Shit!

I ran up the stairs that I had used before and saw how the man walked up to the first room. I heard the door creak a bit when he peeked in. His hand crept inside like searching for something on the cold wall. The next second I knew what he had been looking for. Light flooded the room and some drops of gold landed in the dark hallway. I was still invisible behind my usual hide point but I felt my heart beat faster and stronger because I knew that the next room would let Bonato's man know what Sebastian had been up to. Damn.

The bald headed man in black turned off the light after making sure that there was no one inside and closed it with a light thud. I breathed in and out just like Angelo had told me to do. I took one breath and let it out and then took another. My hand closed around my cold gun that felt like a burning torch in my hands. Even though I was nervous my hands were cold as ever. My eyes twitched, my nose picked up on smells like roses and copper mixed with mine. I cocked the black gun and slowly stood up. My knees were hurting from crouching down as much, my back was itchy and I needed to go to the bathroom. Leaving all of that aside I took one last breath and then jumped quickly to the cold wall. I pressed my back against it and felt the cold stone cool my heated back. The man walked leisurely towards the music room. I approached him, still in the shadows, my steps never reaching anybody's ear. My pulse felt like I was driving on a highway and my finger twitched on the trigger. I held my gun with both hands, my eyes never leaving the man that had already the door knob in his big hand. I heard the little click of the door and saw it swing open. There was no light, there was no sound. I saw his hand trying to find the light switch again and knew I needed to act, now. I raised my gun and pointed directly to his head.

I never pulled the trigger.

I didn't hear the bullet, I didn't see who it was, but I knew where it had come from. The man fell backwards like a stiff tree. His head fell on the floor with a finality that made my heard stop for a moment. Would that also be my end? Would I leave this earth alone, working for some bastard that didn't even care if I lived or died? Would I never have my revenge or would I die while at it? Wasn't it miserable? A live with no direction other that the one others give you? Wasn't it stupid and reckless? Death would find all of us, I knew that, but I just hoped that mine wouldn't be as insignificant as his. I didn't even know his name. He was dead. Living your life will cost you your life.

I was frozen, still pressed to the stone wall, still breathing fast but not letting out a sound. E had killed him. He was the only one in the fucking room. I knew that I had to change plans. I hid my gun in my waistband and walked up to the still warm body as loud as I could. I heard somebody stop breathing at the other side of the door that was still open a bit, dark like the gates of hell.

I crouched down and closed the man's eyes. Then I stood up and pushed the door open.

"Hello?" I said as innocently as possible. Alec was back and Rocco was buried in his depths. For now. I didn't get an answer so I carefully stepped into the music room that was still cast in shadows. "My name is Alexander Lightwood, is somebody in here?" What a great show, please a standing ovation.

I slowly approached the man that I could smell from the hallway. Copper. Blood. E. E was there were the blood had been flowing. Rat.

Before I could say anything else light made the whole room visible for me. I saw E, the idiot lowering his hand with the gun, and smiling a bit.

He passed his hand over his sweaty front and let out a breath like he had thought I was some demon. Well…

"Alec, man it's you. You nearly gave me a heart attack. Wadda you even doin' here?" he asked me. My eyes searched his frail body. From his ugly ass face to his skinny legs. Nothing. There was no other gun, except the one he had been holding and there were definitely no papers. I smiled a bit. Mission nearly accomplished.

"I needed to escape from Gabriel a bit. You know, some alone time." I looked down at my feet, always the shy Alec. How pathetic.

"Yeah, I get that."

I raised my eyes to him. I needed to get the answer as fast as possible. Magnus should me here by now. I had lost too much time already with the bald man. I guessed that I had still two minutes left.

"Did you find anything?" I asked E. The rat boy's eyes widened.

"No…why? Did Sebastian send you, did you -" I stopped his nonsense with taking out my gun and pointing it directly between his eyes. What a precise and beautiful death.

"Are you sure about that? Nothing?"

E's legs began to shake, his skin turned white like rotten flesh. I heard his teeth clatter against each other and his hands trying to make it seem like he wasn't cocking his own gun.

"If you do that you are dead in two seconds." I told him. My voice so different from Alec's. I was Rocco, the untouchable. Never fearing, never yielding and never stopping before getting his revenge.

"Tell me." I ordered and E. looked down at his hands. He had left his gun fall to the ground. When his eyes looked into mine I saw everything in them. I saw crushed dreams and I saw his fears I saw his wish to have a family his need for love and warmth. In his brown button eyes I saw a life reflected, a little child that first learned how to ride a bike, a grown up after his first heartbreak. I saw it all, I saw his soul. There it was; life as raw and rough as it really was. His eyes held no tears, just one last wish. Live.

I pulled the trigger and E's last wish never came true.

He fell like the man had fallen. What do they say? An eye for an eye? Well, my friend, that's what happens. E lay before my feet like a grotesque servant kissing my feet. I ignored his frozen eyes and searched his body. Nothing. He had been saying the truth. But I had known that already. I took the gun that had fallen to the ground and pressed it into his hand. I took the man by his ankles and pulled him into the room. I didn't want Magnus seeing a corpse in the hallway, he needed to buy my story. Before I could do anything else I heard steps approaching. Magnus. I closed to door and closed the light. I pressed my back against the wall again, this time being the one inside. Magnus knocked twice, like he had said he would but I didn't move. I put my gun back in my waistband and waited. My heart wasn't beating as fast anymore, but I could still see E before me. His pleading eyes, his knowledge that this would be his end.

"E?" I heard Magnus voice through the door like I was standing on the other side of a waterfall. I heard the door open slowly, just a crack. I heard Magnus breathing as he crept towards me, his hand flat on the wall, just like my back. It was really ironic when you looked at it. Me, with no intentions of hurting Magnus and him, with no intentions of hurting me, but still both of us were careful. The light from the hallway didn't reach my feet so I was still hidden from Magnus' cat like eyes.

"Eric? Are you here?" He said and I had to gulp. Eric was long gone. My hand slipped over the switch I knew Magnus was looking for. His hand crept closer and closer over the cold wall like a huge snake ready to bite. Then suddenly everything went very fast. His hand over mine, his mouth opening in realization, my hand on his mouth, our struggling. And finally this word that made me stop dead in my tracks. Of course the fight was planned. I needed him to think I was completely horrified and frightened. Alec the lamb. What bullshit.

"Alec?!"

I shrieked like a little girl and jumped back, hitting the switch. The room became visible to our eyes and mine widened dramatically. I sank down, my back on the wall and closed my eyes. I started shivering and trembling. When I didn't hear anything I opened my eyes for a second and saw Magnus. He was beautiful as ever, his black hair, his perfect body. But he didn't fit in the room with two dead men. His green golden eyes were glued on the figure lying close to him. E. I saw his breathing stop, his blood freeze. I didn't remember what it felt like to see death for the first time. I didn't feel anything anymore. It was just a fact, like being alive, the same way you aren't.

Magnus sank to his knees, tears in his eyes. His shaking hands came up to his face. I didn't want him to suffer but he needed to see this, he needed to see that working for the mafia would not only mean driving big cars and wearing expensive clothes. This was the real deal and sadly the only one that was true. I kept silently crying. I didn't know when I had started, but it didn't matter anyway, it was only an act. It was a show just like the time Sebastian had beaten my ribs raw. I knew that I would provoke him with crying but I needed to show Magnus his true face. He needed to see what a monster he really was. I hated him, so much that sometimes I thought of just killing him in his sleep. Those nights when he was breathing next to me and I was laying awake thinking about _him_. But it would be way too easy, he needed to suffer. Magnus gulped and closed his eyes, the tears falling like rain on his button down shirt. I didn't want him to suffer. I didn't want him to suffer damn it! I had suffered enough for both of us.

I stood up on shaky legs and walked up to the man.

I didn't know what to say. I just stood behind him, his back tense and my heart arching. He turned around to face me and took my face into his hands.

"Are you all right?"

He was standing close to me, our feet nearly touching, in the middle of two lost souls. I closed my eyes and nodded.

"Alec…" his voice broke and his breath caught in his throat.

"I know it's hard…but can you-"

"I don't know if I am ready to talk about it." I said. It felt so wrong to be in his arm, but at the same time so right. Magnus' arms embraced me and I let my head fall down onto his shoulder. I noticed that his shirt was still undone at the collar. I breathed in his smell, but I could put a name to it. It was just too unique.

"Let's go downstairs." said Magnus after a while. I didn't want to go down and face Sebastian. I wanted to leave this place with Magnus and never come back. Maybe we could go to the beach or we could go to Paris. I had always wanted to go to Paris. But I nodded and reluctantly let go of Magnus and his warmth and comfort. He looked down at the two bodies and I tried to look as disgusted as possible. Magnus saw my face and sighed.

"I'm sorry I could protect you from that."

I nearly laughed but my face just showed an embarrassing blush.

"You don't need to say sorry. It's okay. I'll…I'll get over it eventually. It's okay. Really." I said and looked into his amazing eyes. I needed to make sure that he didn't feel guilty. He didn't nod; he didn't do anything except look into my eyes like I was a riddle to him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure."

He smiled warmly and the next thing he did surprised me. He took my hand, just like that; he took my hand and didn't let it go. I needed to get my feeling under control because right now I was acting like a fifteen year old virgin. With one last and very long look we left the music room and descended the stairs.

"I was already wondering where you were." said Magnus and a warm feeling spread through my entire body. He had been concerned about me.

"Why?" I asked him.

He didn't look at me but I felt his hand tighten around mine.

"Because you are important to me." And with that he let go of my hand because we had both spotted Sebastian who was standing beside Raphael. There weren't as many people; most of them must have left already. I didn't see Gabriel and I didn't see any of our people. Maybe Seb was already saying goodbye to Mr. Bonato.

I knew that now was the time to explain. I hoped Seb wouldn't see through my lie. We walked up to them, excusing ourselves when bumping into someone. We came to a halt in front of the little group of people. Seb had his back turned to us but Raphael had seen us coming. I saw his lips form my lovers name and the blond turned around. His black eyes found me first and then he looked at Magnus and confusion spread over his face like a grey carpet.

"What?" said Sebastian and his eyebrows clashed together like he knew something had gone wrong. Well, wrong for him. I had everything I needed to deliver it to Angelo. I had the information about the drug and I had killed the first of many that still needed to follow. The list was long and Sebastian was at the very bottom, like a grotesque grand finale. Just that he didn't know that he was invited to the show.

"Ahem…I think you should just see it yourself." said Magnus looking at me, but my eyes were cast down. I was sad, right? Suddenly I stared into Sebastian's black eyes. His hand had captured my chin and pulled me up to face him.

"What is this about Alec?" he said and for the first time in many years of knowing him he looked scared, like he knew that soon he would be alone, just as alone as I had felt. Screw you Seb, darling.

"I…" I didn't want to seem weak but that was just what I needed to be to make it perfect. "E is dead." I said finally. Magnus sighed and Seb froze. But only a second. Raphael didn't move , his eyes jumping from me to Magnus. He would be one of the biggest problems. Raphael the devil that saw everything. Sebastian's right hand.

"Dead?" said the blond haired man and let my chin go.

"Yes" responded Magnus this time.

"How" Sebastian was looking at the ground, his brows knit together tightly. He didn't even have the strength to make it a question. My hand came up to caress his cheek but he pushed me away and back was the cold monster. Welcome home, baby.

"Well, I don't really know...but Alec…" said Magnus looking at me. I knew he was nervous and I knew that he didn't want to force me into telling my story, but I was ready. I took as deep breath as if steadying myself and said then.

"Well I was with Gabriel and I was dancing" at that Magnus growled a bit which made me very happy, "but then suddenly he didn't want me anymore so I began drinking a bit…"

At that Magnus raised his eyebrows, he knew now that I had just acted like I was drunk and he would surely ask me everything about it later. But right now he left me alone which I was very grateful for. I needed to focus on my story.

"Then I saw a man walking up the stairs and well I knew that Magnus and E were searching the house so I thought that maybe I could help."

"Did I tell you to 'help' when you saw it fitting?" asked an enraged Sebastian and I pressed out a tiny 'no' between my lips. Bastard.

"Yeah, so why the fuck did you?" said Sebastian and Raphael put his hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know, I-I just -"

"Yeah, Alec, and that's the problem. You don't have reasons for your actions you don't think before doing anything. God how can you be so goddamned stupid?!"

Sebastian's face was in front of mine and I just wanted to put a bullet through his head right this second. I didn't have reasons? You'll see my reasons…

"Sorry." Was the only thing I said. I noticed Magnus beside me, wanting to act but not having the guts to do it. People were so easy to understand and figure out.

"Yeah, a fucking sorry will do it. Sure Alec, sure." Sebastian was beyond angry and I just hoped he wouldn't hit me again I might hit back and break his spine. "Well what else?"

His annoyance made me hate him even more but I tried to contain my anger.

"Then I got to the music room and saw E and the man dead on the floor. They had both their guns in their hands still, so I guess that they killed each other… It's so horrible." I said and my hands covered my face. I felt Magnus hand caressing my back and just wanted to curl up with him somewhere. I heard Sebastian sigh and say then : "Well did he find anything at least?" The question was for Magnus but I could have answered as well. It had been my last question for E and also his last.

"We didn't get any information." I heard Magnus say and felt proud of him when his voice didn't break again. He had recovered quickly form the shock. Well knowing who his father was, it was really no surprise.

"Are the bodies still there?" asked Raphael and I lowered my hands again and opened my eyes.

"Yes" answered Magnus and Sebastian nodded and looked down at me. He leaned into me and whispered in my ear: "Don't go fucking up anything else, got it?"

He looked me dead into the eyes and I gulped and nodded. He smirked and said then, louder this time and for Magnus and Raphael as well "Let's go get the trash out."

When I wanted to follow him he pulled me back by my wrist.

"Stay the fuck here."

I nodded.

One day you will pay. One day you will hurt. One day you will suffer. One day you will be dead and I will be free.

**Okay don't hate me. I know I have been a bit…not there but now I back! I'll update tomorrow, I swear! Thank you for the reviews, even though I wasn't updating you guys really help me! Please keep on reviewing it makes my day. As you have noticed there are a lot of little pieces to complete the puzzle, here are some things you should keep in mind : - Magnus' past, - Magnus' father, Hook, Angelo, Unopened letters from Sebastian's safe. **

**Good luck figuring everything out! J LOVE YOU LIKE CRAZY!**


	8. Chapter 8

Magnus PoV

The ride back to Sebastian's place had been a silent one. Alec had been looking outside the window, his face not showing any emotion just like a blank mask. I had sighed more than a thousand times while Sebastian had been calling different people sounding angry at times and very calm at other. I hadn't understood a word till one name popped up in a conversation. This time, the Boss had sound like an exploding volcano.

"No! No I do fucking understand what this means!...yeah…I get it okay?...what?!...what the fuck are you talking about? You know what Hook did and you know how I took care of it! Of him!..."

That had been the only time Alec had looked away from the window and had entered the world of the living again. His sapphire eyes had been clouded, his brows tightly knit together as though he was trying to solve a riddle. I had tried to catch his glance but he had ignored me and when Sebastian had continued talking he had turned away. Hook. I remembered the ginger man, he had been the first one to greet me that night. He had been friendly but the way Sebastian talked about him it seemed as though he had been some kind of menace. "_I took care of him_" had Sebastian said. Did that mean he was dead or that he was just not part of the _famiglia_ anymore? I had wanted to talk to Alec about my worries but I had only seen his pale reflection in the dark windows. He had looked breathtaking but tense as though he was waiting for something to happen. I had thought that maybe he had felt sick, one of his long milky arms had been draped along his belly. But I had never asked him if he was feeling well, I had been scared to even look at him for no real reason. It had been the look in his eyes, the depth that I had found there mixed with sorrow and regret. To see someone die was not something pleasant I guessed. It haunted you, never left you alone till the day you finally turn your back on the past. It was too early for that I guessed. Alec, the beautiful boy didn't look broken, he didn't look scared. He looked relentless as he was observing the world from behind the dark windows. His jaw set, his deep blue eyes impenetrable like a bulletproof vest. I had never imagined seeing Alec like that, so far away from everything that he seemed to be in an entirely different space. To be afraid of touching him or of consoling him, it had never happened before.

When the car had stopped in the garage Sebastian had still be talking to someone over the phone. He had sounded a bit calmer; steadier as though the thoughts pestering him had vanished for a few breaths. I had stepped out of the luxurious car turning around to see if Alec would follow me out. But his seat had been empty; the blue eyed man had been already pushing the elevator button, his front pressed against the cold metal of the lift. And there it was again; Alec, the unapproachable, and the farouche boy that seemed a million miles away from me and my touch. Maybe he didn't need me, maybe I was worrying over nothing, but something told me that Alec's sweet side was not the only one.

And as though time was mocking us we had stepped into the elevator in silence just like the car ride had been in silence. History repeating itself I guess. Sebastian had ignored Alec and had disappeared into his study without a word which had left me and Alec alone in the dark hallway. The house had been creaking around us in the night like the joints and bones of an old man. I had opened my mouth to form words that hadn't even formed in my brain but Alec had, once again, left leaving only a trace of faint perfume behind him.

I woke in the middle of the night. Not because my back was stiff or because I was thirsty. It was more the repeated sound of something hitting the wall again and again. My hands found my face and my fingers my eyes, trying to rub the sleep out of them. I looked at the little digital clock, the green numbers telling me that it was way too early to be up yet. Manhattan was sleeping around me but Magnus Bane was awake. The room was dark, the only dim light coming from the closed window showing the city lights like a field of blooming flowers. I yawned and pushed back the covers, my feet curling on the warm fluffy carpet. I went to the closet an opened it, taking out a shirt when I heard the light bang again. This time stronger, like somebody was pushing against my wall. I frowned. My eyes had adjusted enough so I could make out some more in the darkness. I stepped out of my room and stopped when the light thud came again, even harder this time. It was coming from Alec and Seb's room. I didn't know what to do. I felt strange in this huge house and I could not possibly tell Sebastian to stop the noise so I could sleep. He was still the boss of the Morgenstern clan and I was just a –

That damn noise! I looked around me and then took a deep breath. I would just knock and see what happened. I curled my fingers into a fist and was about to knock when I heard Sebastian's hoarse voice through the door. I still didn't know why I didn't leave, why I just stood there with my hand raised and my ears cocked. But the truth is that I didn't leave, that I never even thought about leaving after hearing the first words spoken with so much venom that my heart turned cold and my blood froze like ice.

"Tell me the truth Alexander or I swear to God I'll end you right here!"

The words were whispered but they echoed in my ears like a gun shot. I heard the thud again and pressed my ear against the door. I heard someone whimper and snivel. Then the noise again. It was a horrible pattern; Sebastian's words, the vehement begging that seemed to lead only to more pain.

"I am not fucking buying your story my dear." I heard Sebastian say, my hand was trembling, my fingers still curled into a fist were sweating and my heart was beating fast, faster than ever before. "Who killed E? Was it you?"

The voice didn't seem to fit in this beautiful house. It reminded me of my past, when my father spoke to some of his puppets, when he was truly angry. He had never spoken to me that way and now I didn't even visit him in prison. The voice carried strength and rage but there was hidden fear behind it, as though the truth it demanded so furiously would shake it to the core.

"You know what happened to Hook, or do you need a reminder?"

Again the noise and again Alec's silent tears. I considered going in, stopping Sebastian from killing Alec, running away, packing my things and leaving this hell hole. But I didn't move. My hand remained raised and my breath never left my lips too afraid that Sebastian might hear me and also beat me to a pulp. Time was indeed mocking me. I had been in that situation already, Sebastian hitting Alec in front of his men and me not lifting a finger, not realising that Alec was worth more than the stupid money. But now the problem was that, even though I knew that I should help Alec, I still couldn't. I had to think about me and about Jem who desperately needed the money. I had made a promise and I would do anything to save my best friends life. Was it the greater good? This idea of sacrificing one soul for another or was it just selfishness that stopped me dead in my tracks?

"You little piece of shit, tell me!"

I jerked and flinched like Sebastian's fist connected with my jaw. I didn't hear Alec anymore, no tears, no begging. It was silent and for the first time in my life I thought that silence was indeed the loudest sound. It filled up your heart and painted it black, it filled your lungs so you'd choke and it ran through your veins like acid, breaking your bones and spreading through your whole body like a deadly snake. Silence, not the kind that calms you in a dark forest. It was the kind of silence that made you forget where and what you were. I wasn't Magnus anymore I was a silent observer , a coward hiding in the dark, in the silence. I heard the bed creak and someone sigh. I heard my heart in my chest like a silent reminder that I was still alive, like a flame that was not yet extinguished. I stepped away from the door and finally let my hand fall down. There was pain in my right arm but there was more pain in my heart. I had done the same again, I had done the same again. But I couldn't turn back time and even if I could, I was not sure if I would have done something differently. I let my back hit the bed and tried in vain to close my eyes. I couldn't forget Alec's whimpers and Sebastian's fury and so I looked at the digital clock again and remained like that till it was okay to be up.

After I had tried to clean my conscience with mango flavored shower gel I went to the kitchen, clean but still dirty inside. The first thing I saw was Alec and it felt like a hammer was brought down repeatedly on my heart, shattering it into a million pieces, some of them so tiny that they were lost forever.

Alec was leaning against the marble counter, a cup of black coffee behind him. His damp hair had made his white shirt look transparent were some drops had fallen onto his broad shoulder like ink on parchment. His pale skin looked ghostly in contrast to the dark blue bruise that had formed on his jaw. Under both of his eyes he had dark circles and his posture made me think that he was in pain only by standing. His light blue jeans didn't let me see if there were more bruises but I was sure that the one on the jaw was not the only one. I stepped in the kitchen and looked at Alec.

"Good morning" I said but felt stupid. Obviously it wasn't a good one. Alec looked up and met my gaze. He smiled lightly and with his head he told me to come closer. I came to stand before him, only a few inches taller.

"Do you want some breakfast?" he asked me, his voice broke a few times, hoarse as though he had spent the night crying. I looked into his deep blue eyes and saw no red rimming. I nodded, feeling nervous suddenly.

"Alright, just sit down and I'll make you whatever you want." he said and was about to turn around to get behind the stove.

"Why don't you sit down and I'll prepare breakfast, hu?"

Without awaiting his answer I slowly pushed him to the table and tried my best to look like a stern mother. Alec smiled a bit and shrugged, sitting down on one of the comfy chairs.

"What can I get you sir?" I said, doing my best to impersonate a British butler named James , preferably.

Alec chuckled and my heart melted back together, a bit. His dimples where doing something very strange to me.

"Well…how about some toast and eggs?" he said and I bowed ridiculously just to hear him laugh again. I grinned like an idiot and turned around to prepare the food. I could feel Alec's eyes on me but I didn't feel observed, it felt nice like someone cared about your every move.

"Did you ever think about going back to Washington D.C?" said Alec in a strange voice. I turned around to face him, his blue eyes on me. In some way I knew why he was asking me, maybe he too had slipped into this life; maybe he too regretted it sometimes. I shrugged and said then: "It's not like I'm never retuning."

I knew that it was a more than unsatisfying answer, surely not what Alec had expected from me, but it was the truth. One day, once I got the money, I'd return to Jem and Tessa and then I'd live happy again. I put Alec's plate in front of him, but the man seemed to have drifted into another dimension again. He was sitting on the chair, his knee popped up and his chin on the knee so that his face resembled a cute boxer dog. He didn't move when I sat down beside him and so I started eating.

"Are Jace and Jordan coming today?" I asked just trying to get some life into Alec's eyes again that seemed to be the window to a grave. The man shrugged and then he took a deep breath and looked at me. His eyes on mine and I felt connected to him in a way that I had never felt. Jem was my best friend, but he had Tessa. I didn't have anyone. My mother was dead, my father behind bars, locked away and I was alone. And those exact thought I saw in sapphire eyes as well. I saw them as though I was looking in a mirror or leaning over a calm lake at night. Only starts and those eyes. And I understood why he had asked me, why it had been so important to him, because he, as me, was also alone. The connection broke when I heard steps coming closer. I gulped and took another bite, the eggs cold and tasting like watery dust in my mouth. I continued chewing on my food when Sebastian came through the door, his blond hair the only light in his dark appearance. His dark washed out jeans and grey colored button down shirt made his eyes look like two pieces of carbon. As he saw us two eating he stopped and frowned.

"Good morning" I said, nearly chocking on a piece of bread in my mouth. I coughed and felt Sebastian hitting me on my back with such force that my eyes nearly left my face.

"Thank you" I wheezed and took a sip from my bitter coffee. Sebastian smiled like a doctor before shoving a huge needle in your arm.

"Well, what a nice breakfast. Can I join in?" he said and pushed a chair back to sit on it. I looked at Alec but he just kept staring at the fork in his right hand like he was thinking very hard about killing someone with it.

"Man I'm hungry. Last night at the Bonato's, what a mess." Said Sebastian, his voice so different from the one I had heard last night, but still powerful and strong. "I hope you slept well Magnus?" he said when I only nodded at his previous comment.

"Yeah, the bed is really comfy" I lied because what I really should have said is : _No, because you were repeatedly hitting your fiancé, which by the way is domestic violence_

But I didn't say a thing.

"Get me something to eat." Said Sebastian and I was about to stand up when he took my wrist and prevented me from doing so.

"Not you. Alec!" he barked and the man flinched a bit like an invisible lash had just hit him in the face. He looked up and I saw how Sebastian's jaw tightened.

"Now!" he yelled and Alec stood up and walked to the fridge. He murmured something but neither me or Sebastian caught it.

"Speak up damnit! You're a man!" he yelled and I just wanted to run to Alec and hug him. I didn't. Of course I didn't.

Alec turned around and faced Sebastian, his eyes glued on the floor as though he was too scared to look his fiancé in the eyes.

"What do you want?" came his answer, wobbly and shaky. Sebastian's face showed a mask of disgust, like Alec was a bothersome animal that needed to be stepped on immediately.

"Bacon and eggs." He said "and make some new coffee."

Alec nodded and started preparing the dish. Sebastian sighed and looked at me.

"He never learns, does he? I mean I told him so many times to make new coffee when I wake up, but he just doesn't get it." The last words he said towards Alec, who had his back turned on us but could still hear everything that was said.

"I mean I'm just trying to educate him, you know. To make him a better person."

I wanted to either smack him or laugh. I just nodded and gulped my throat dry like a desert.

"So, is there work to be done today?" I asked trying to take the attention away from Alec. Sebastian's eyes fixed on me then, his expression never leaving.

"Well, we are a few days away from Christmas so there is another…party you might say."

"Party as the one last night?" I asked, not really eager to go to another mafia event. Sebastian looked quickly to Alec and then back to me.

"Yeah kind of. But it's nothing formal, just a little encounter with some friends." The way he said 'friends' made me think that they weren't friendly at all.

"What is it exactly?" I asked as Alec put the plate in front of the boss. He didn't look at Sebastian he didn't say anything. The bacon and the eggs were both steaming.

"What about my coffee?" demanded Sebastian.

"In a few minutes." Was the only thing Alec said. The man wanted to turn around but Sebastian caught his wrist much like he had done with mine earlier. Alec's eyes were still cast down on the floor and Sebastian sighed in annoyance.

"Look at me Alec!" he yelled and the blue eyes glanced into black ones.

"Are you not even going to kiss me good morning?" asked Sebastian with the sweetest voice. I gulped and Alec's back tensed. His eyes were still dead, but in Sebastian's I could see revenge. He was still punishing Alec, for whatever. I saw joy in the black orbs, even glee like Sebastian was really enjoying this whole thing. Alec bent down and gave Sebastian a quick kiss on the lips but the boss didn't let him go. I saw how he pushed his tongue into Alec's mouth and understood. It was all about power. It was a battle over who held the power and right now I knew that Sebastian was winning the fight. It was just like the last time when Sebastian had hit Alec in front of everyone. He had done it to show everybody that he possessed strength, that he was a real leader and that he was the only boss. It was always about power.

The kiss ended and Alec remained silent. So much silence.

"Sit down!" barked Sebastian and Alec did as he was told.

"What were you asking Magnus?" said Sebastian and started eating his breakfast. I didn't have the courage to look at Alec, I hated this situation.

"What this encounter is exactly."

"Well, for once it is only the Morgenstern Clan and our befriended Clan, the Genovese's. We get together once before Christmas every year to play poker. It's really that simple." said Sebastian.

"Poker, hu? I have no idea how to play that game." I said.

"It is much more than a simple game, Magnus" said Sebastian "it is tradition, it is the soul of the mafia, the one thing that gets us together. I mean after all, we are family."

I nodded and heard a fork fall to the ground. I turned to Alec who was looking aghast at Sebastian.

"The Genovese?" he said, his face a bit paler than usual, the bruise on his jaw appearing bluer. Sebastian leaned back with a satisfied smile on his thin lips.

"Well yes darling, just like always. You know the drill." He said, a little wink at the end. Power.

"But I never go and you know why." said Alec, fear in his lucent blue eyes. His hands had started fumbling with the hem of his shirt, and the fork lay forgotten on the floor.

"I thought you should come tonight, you know, to say hello and all." The venom in Sebastian's voice was palpable, his eyes showing only malice and deceitfulness. Like a sadist he enjoyed inflicting pain and watching Alec turn to ice in front of him.

"But Victor hates me! You know he does, you know he does!" Alec had tears in his eyes and Sebastian a delighted smile on his face.

"I wouldn't go that far honey. I think it's just light teasing."

"Light teasing?! What? Are you out of your mind? You know what happened last time I saw him, you know that Sebastian!" Alec was on his feet, the angry tears running over his pale cheeks. His breath came short and his hands were balled into fists.

"I don't understand why you are behaving like this. What a drama queen." The last words were spoken to me under his breath but loud enough for Alec to hear.

"Please Sebastian! Please!"

I looked at Alec, the pleading tone in his voice tearing my insides apart. I just wanted Sebastian to stop torturing him, to stop this game, tell him that we all knew that he held the power. But I couldn't. To this day I never understood why I just couldn't move.

To this day I never knew why our story had to end in ashes.

But Sebastian didn't hear my thoughts and so he kept smiling with hatred and spite, mocking Alec and his desperation. I didn't know why Alec was so distraught. I would see it for myself later why Victor was such a threat to the blue eyed man.

Sebastian stood up and took Alec into his arms. He held the sobbing man in his muscular arms like a mother protecting her child. But wasn't it ironic that Sebastian was the reason Alec was crying? Sebastian made soothing sounds, his hand caressing the man's back, this lips on Alec's front.

"Sh…Alec…It's alright…sh…"

"S-so I don't ha-have to g-go?" stuttered Alec hopeful but of course Sebastian didn't turn into a warm person in a second.

"Of course you have to go, because I am telling you to. And if you ever cry in front of me again like this I will really punish you, do you hear me sweetie?"

His voice soft as a feather and his words hard as a rock. Alec looked up and Sebastian smiled down at him with so much love that I was about to vomit. Love that wasn't real, that was just a veil to make Alec hurt some more. Alec gulped and the tears never ceased to come.

"B-but, you-"

"No 'buts' darling. Now go clean your face, you look unpresentable. "

With that he let go of Alec and pushed him towards the hallway. When the man was gone Sebastian turned to me.

"I want you to go out with Alec, go shopping." He took this cup of coffee and was about to walk out of the kitchen, before he was gone he turned around one last time and said: "and take Jace and Jordan with you, and don't lose Alec out of sight!"

With that he was gone and the silence was back where it belonged. With me.

"Alec, its Jace. Open up!"

I had been trying to coax the blue eyes beauty out of his room, but after two hours of silence I desperately turned to Jace for help. The blond man had looked at me like I was crazy but after a few hard knocks on the door he had believed me when I told him that Alec wasn't coming out of his room.

"Why is he is pissed?" said Jace, his fist still raised just like mine was at night.

"I asked Sebastian about the poker night that you guys do with the Geno..something clan" I said. My legs were starting to tire so I leaned against the cold wall and slit down till I was sitting on the fluffy white carpet. Jace knocked again but when he received no answer he sighed and looked down to me.

"Genovese."

With that he mirrored my movements and slit down on the opposite wall.

"Yeah, that was the name."

"And?"

I frowned "And , what?"

Jace rolled his golden eyes at me and I smiled a bit. Even though he was very full of himself I kind of liked the man. He was a good friend to Alec and treated him better than Sebastian, which wasn't all that difficult really.

"And then Alec went crazy I swear. He said that some guy named Victor hated his guts and then he just started crying. I don't know what happened, Jace."

Jace's eyebrows were knit together and he had an intense look on his face, like a lion , ready to pounce on the next best animal.

"Victor you say?"

Jace's voice told me that his thoughts were running wild inside that handsome head. I nodded and kept looking at him. The golden man's eyes left mine and wandered over the pictures on the wall.

"It's…complicated." he finally said with a deep and troubled voice.

"What is?"

Jace sighed again and looked at the still locked door where Alec must be hiding behind.

"He and Alec have a complicated history."

"History?"

I was curious about Alec's life, I didn't know a lot about the boy, not where he came from and not anything else of importance. I only knew that he was friends with Jace and Sebastian's fiancé.

"Yeah, history."

"Care to elaborate?"

I didn't want to seem nosy but maybe this Victor guy was dangerous.

Jace chuckled darkly and his amber eyes settled on me.

"Come with me."

My look of confusion must have been quite funny because Jace started to laugh a bit. "C'mon!" he said and gave me his hand to help me off the floor. I took it gratefully and let him lift me up.

"Thanks" I murmured and Jace smiled. I followed him to the living room, to a small tea table made out of dark cherry wood, very antique style. The narrow table was full of framed pictures. A man with white hair and very broad shoulders, I guessed that this was Sebastian's father Valentine. Then there was Raphael, his arm around Sebastian's shoulder. One in black and white of Alec sitting on the beach gazing at the sinking sun. I picked up a picture of Alec and Jace, both of them were smiling but their face looked tense and everything looked staged. They were younger, Jace a bit smaller than Alec but better built. Behind them I saw a red sight made out of lights, it read '_The Lovelock_' . Alec looked thinner, his hairs not as styled as it was now and Jace very young like a boy that had grown up too quickly.

"When was this taken?" I asked Jace who was going through other pictures as well. He looked up a photograph of a tiny dog in his hands and his face darkened.

"In front of a… store." He said then after thinking for a moment. I knew that wasn't the whole truth but Jace had turned around already to keep searching. I took another heavy picture in my hand, the frame silver and cold steel. It showed two hands intertwined and on both of them a ring. I guessed it must be Sebastian's and Alec's. I had to smile a bit despite the jealousy inside of me. I had always wanted something like that. I put it back down and was about to take the last one, a girl with coal black hair and a boy with glasses when Jace told me to come. I walked towards him and sat down on the white couch next to him. In his tan hands he was holding a picture of a group of people.

"What is this?"

"This is _history_" he said and winked at me. I chuckled and took the picture in my hands. It must have been taken some years ago, around the time the one in front of the 'Lovelock' had been taken. There were five people on the picture, only three of them were known to me. There were all wearing street clothes and were standing under a huge walnut tree, I guessed it must be Central Park. On the right I saw Raphael, his hair longer than now and a bit plump and still wearing ridiculous colors. He was standing beside Sebastian who had his arm wrapped around a man's shoulder like they were best friends. Sebastian hadn't changed, still the same light hair and devilish grin. In the sun he looked more relaxed and calmer. The man beside him was more interesting though. He had dark brown hair, just like chocolate and hazel eyes that looked friendly and warm. He was very tall but not skinny, his muscled arms holding Alec close to his body. The blue eyed man was such a contrast to the man beside him. I looked at his face and saw no joy in it, he looked tired and sad even on a sunny day. The last person beside Alec was a blond and very beautiful woman. She was a lot smaller than all the men but with a very nice body and lovely curves. Her lips were lush and red and her high cheekbones cast shadows over her pale skin. Her eyes were as green as the leaves surrounding them. I looked up to meet Jace's gaze.

"Is he Victor?" I asked, my finger on the man's chest. Jace nodded and took the picture away from me glancing at it himself.

"Yeah"

"He looks nice." I said, watching Jace's reaction very closely.

"A snake is also beautiful." Was the only thing he said. He sighed and put the picture down on his lap.

"Victor is Sebastian's best friend. Well 'friend' a friend in _our_ world is something else you know."

"_'Our world'_?"

"The mafia." He simply said. He pushed his golden locks out of his eyes with his free hand and looked at me again.

"Victor and Sebastian know each other since forever I guess. " I nodded and he continued. "Their parents even knew each other, Valentine and Antonio."

"Antonio Genovese?" I asked, the name made me remember my father again.

"Yeah. Sounds familiar?" his eyebrows raised Jace kept looking at me till I nodded.

"Yes it does." But I didn't say more, everyone had their secrets, right?

Jace didn't push his luck so he glanced back down at the picture and then out the window watching the beauty of New York City.

"Well then one day Sebastian met Alec and they started seeing each other. Then I don't know if you know that but…" amber eyes on mine. " Valentine died."

"I knew that. I mean I know that Sebastian is the Capo so I thought that his father must be dead. Why are you saying it like it's a secret."

"Because to this day nobody know how he died. Sebastian's man killed five people, saying that they were the ones that had finished old Morgenstern. But I think that only Sebastian knows the truth about that night."

"How did he die?"

"Three bullets in his back."

"His back?" What a coward, could nearly be me I thought with some bitter irony.

"Yeah. Anyway" said Jace "so Valentine was dead and Sebastian was truly sad, I had never seen him like that. Then he proposed to Alec and everything seemed to be fine."

"Yeah" I said and nodded " it always seems fine at the beginning."

Jace gave me a weird look but continued nevertheless.

"Then before Christmas maybe two years ago Sebastian took Alec to one of the poker things. He had been meeting with Victor since..well forever as I said and it was their tradition. " I nodded and Jace kept talking.

"What I'm telling you could also be wrong because I wasn't there that night. But fact is that when they came back Sebastian was carrying an unconscious Alec."

I gulped and leaned forward.

"Unconscious?"

"He was covered in bruises and…" his voice broke and I frowned.

"And?"

"And that's all I know." Said Jace and was about to get up but I stopped him.

"Wait, Jace. Are you telling me that Victor did that to Alec?"

The blond man didn't open his mouth but I got my answer.

"Yes"

I turned around and looked at Alec standing in the door. His hairs disheveled like he had just woken up, the dark circles under his eyes even more prominent on his alabaster skin. His shirt was wrinkled and his voice hoarse. He stepped toward both of us, but his eyes never left mine. They weren't dead as before but numb and all the depth they had held before had vanished.

"Alec I-" started Jace but Alec stopped him with a sign of his hand. Jace fell silent and looked down on his shoes. I stood up and faced the blue eyes that seemed to suck me in.

"Yes, Victor did this to me. He put something in my drink when I wasn't looking and knocked me unconscious. Then he and some of his _friends_ had some fun with me." The bitterness and resentment in his voice didn't fit to a face as beautiful as his. It was sorrow and grief but also hatred and loathing. Those emotions hit me like a whip making me bleed.

"Fun?" I asked and saw how Alec's jaw tightened. His face looked even whiter now and his lips were caught between his perfect teeth.

"Yeah. _Fun_" He looked to Jace who was still inspecting the floor.

"Have you come to tell bedtime stories Jace or to accompany me?" The angel Alec was gone, there was just a broken boy now. Jace shook his head, apology written over his face.

"I'm sorry man, but you weren't coming out so I thought that-"

"You thought that it was okay to tell Magnus about my life." Said Alec and Jace crunched his teeth with regret.

"Well Magnus, know you know why I don't want to see that man ever again in my life. Not ever."

I wanted to say that I was sorry, but I couldn't. Again I just couldn't. I cared about Alec I knew I did, but I couldn't move or comfort him in any way. I gulped and shrugged like an idiot. So much pain for one life, but didn't we all have our cross to bear?

"I'm going to get ready and you are never going to talk about this, understood?" Alec's eyes turned mine into ice. I nodded.

"I'll be ready in ten minutes, then we go." He said and disappeared again.

Jace let out a breath and let himself fall down on the couch again. I too had been holding my breath and felt even more idiotic now. _Fun_. What was that supposed to mean? Had they hit him, had they made him do unspeakable things? And all without Seb noticing? It seemed very weird that the boss of one of the most powerful Clans in New York City didn't know what was going on right under his nose.

"I shouldn't have told you." Said Jace.

"Well you did so screw it." I smiled at him and he also gave me a tentative smile.

"I'll go tell Jordan to get the car ready. Wouldn't want to drive in a cold car, right?" He winked before walking out into the kitchen. I stepped before the huge window and looked down on New York. It was not yet snowing, but the sky didn't promise a sunny day either. I went to get my jacked and put on my Blackstone winter boots made out of reddish leather. As I was seeing that Jace wasn't coming back again I took the picture he had left on the couch. Everyone was smiling except Alec. What a horrible past must he have had? What else was lying underneath that breathtaking shell?

I wondered for a moment if one day I would get the chance to know him, to truly know him as I knew myself. What a beautiful feeling to be so close to a person to know their thoughts. I turned the picture around and saw a few words scribbled onto it.

_'Amicis omnia sciunt'*_

I had no idea what those words meant but I was sure it was written in Latin. I frowed, why would someone write in Latin? My thoughts were interrupted by Jace and Alec's steps.

They came to a halt before the elevator.

"So…are we cool?" said Jace looking at his friend. It was funny that Jace had been shorter than Alec, now they had the exact same height; just that Jace was way more muscled. Alec smiled and his voice was warm and calm again.

"Yes of course."

Jace grinned and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Man you scared me! " He let out a barky laugh and said then "So, are you sure you want to go shopping?"

Alec chuckled "Yes Jace, I know you hate it but I really need to buy some presents. It's nearly Christmas."

"Okay, okay, the concrete jungle is awaiting us mister." He grinned and we stepped into the elevator.

"And what about that?" I said pointing with my chin to the bruise on his face. Alec blushed and tried to drape his blue scarf over his neck to his ears. The bruise was still visible though.

"Nothing."

And with that the conversation was over, but I knew Alec's anger had disappeared because he gave me a shy smile before stepping out of the lift. I smiled as well, to myself and we made our way to the bronze Mercedes Benz CLS. The engine was already running and Jordan was sitting inside the luxurious vehicle. He honked one and then twice and Alec laughed.

"He still gets excited over driving the damned car." He told me and was about to open the door but I was faster.

"Please Mister Lightwood." I said with my butler- British- James- accent again. Alec grinned and bowed a little.

"Why thank you." He said and got in the car. I saw Jace's raised eyebrows in amusement but I just shrugged and closed Alec's door.

"Are you sitting behind?" asked me Jace and I nodded. The closer to Alec the better.

Jace smirked knowingly and got in beside Jordan.

"Hey 'Gus" said Jordan and I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous nickname. It wasn't even right, it should be 'Gnus' if we were being correct. But Jordan laughed and so did Alec.

"It's a cute name." he said and I swear I have never seen such a beautiful being. His black hair, his pale skin, his eyes..oh his eyes…

I looked away and out the window to see if it had started snowing. No, not yet.

The car was warm and the light leather seats were comfortable. I leaned back and tried to enjoy the ride.

"So where to, Alec?" asked Jordan and turned on the radio. A song from Coldplay filled the car and Alec answered: "Drive to Saks I want to buy some jewellery."

"Saks?" I asked, but of course I was sitting in a Mercedes with a man that had on clothes worth thousands of dollars.

Alec nodded smiling.

"Yeah, why? Don't you like it?"

"I have never been to that mall" I said a little embarrassed. Well I surely had been with my father being an important Capo as well, but those days were over a long time ago.

"Well, you'll love it!" said Alec.

The rest of the car ride was filled with the music coming out of the radio and Jordan's humming. While we were driving to the Fifth Avenue Alec pointed out some stores to me or a coffee shop that I needed to see. I loved the light his eyes had and how excited and even proud he seemed to be showing me his city. I had missed Alec.

We arrived after a bit of driving and parked the car in the garage. We stepped out of the Mercedes and took the elevator to get upstairs.

"What do you need to buy?" asked Jace Alec. The blue eyed man winked at him and said: "I'm not telling."

"Oh! Come on Alec! I won't tell anyone! Pinky promise"

Alec only laughed and got in the elevator, the three of us followed him.

"I remember those exact words and then Izzy knowing exactly that she was going to get an iPhone."

"But that was one time! Alec" Jace sounded a bit like a whiney Chihuahua but it was funny nevertheless. Alec shook his head laughing and Jordan punched Jace lightly in the arm.

"Calm down Flipper, don't get too excited"

I had to laugh imagining a dolphin with Jace's face. It was hilarious. I laughed and noticed how Alec's eyes followed my moves.

"Yeah, says the one that nearly wet himself when he gets to drive Alec's car." Now Jace was the one grinning like an idiot and Alec shaking his head like a mother over bickering children.

"Calm down people." I said and Alec's smile lit up his whole face almost making me forget the bruise on his face.

We stepped out of the elevator and my eyes didn't know where to look first. The floor was marble and so were the pillars that made the whole interior look like a Greek palace. The counters were a creamy white color and there were light everywhere blinding me and making me feel famous and important. The jewellery twinkled and sparkled and I saw only diamonds and rubies. I gulped and my eyes found Alec's own sapphires. He smiled and took my hand in his. It was such an ordinary thing to do, to take somebodies hand, but it said so much about our relationship. It was something special. Jordan whistled and Jace elbowed him.

"Get a grip man." Jordan smiled wickedly and followed us to where all the watches were laying behind a show glass.

"What are you looking for exactly?" I asked Alec, Jordan and Jace a bit behind looking around the place. The blue eyes man looked at me and smiled a bit.

"A watch." He said and kept looking. Most of them looked more expensive than a whole mansion but Alec was the one paying so…

"For?" I asked.

"Seb" he said and I gulped a bit. Of course he would buy a watch for his fiancé. Of course.

"Can I help you" said a voice behind us and we turned around to face a woman in her mid-forties. She was dressed in elegant black, with brown eyes and light brown hair and a warm smile over white teeth.

"Yes, please. I am looking for a watch for my fiancé, but I am not sure what to get him." Said Alec and the woman smiled. I looked at her name tag which read Susanne.

"Is this your lovely fiancé?" she said looking at me. Alec blushed a beautiful cherry color and I shook my head smiling lightly.

"No, I'm just a friend." I said and Susanne nodded and smiled. Turning to Alec she said: "How much are you willing to pay for the watch Mister?"

Alec who had walk to another vitrine looked up. "There is no limit" he said nonchalantly and my eyes widened. Really? They must have more money than I had thought.

Susanne nodded and walked to another show glass calling Alec to her.

"Well how about this lovely watch? Cartier, stainless steel and sapphires." Alec took the watch in his hands and turned to me.

"Do you like it?" I shrugged and Alec nodded as though I had told him exactly my opinion.

"Do you have another one? But Cartier, please." He told Susanne. The woman nodded and took out the next watch.

"Cartier, steel and 22 carat gold, which means it is 91.6 percent pure gold."

Alec nodded and smiled.

"I like it. I'll buy it." He said and smiled. Susanne got behind the cashier.

"Well that would be 8.743 dollars."

My heart nearly stopped beating but Alec didn't even bat an eyelash. He gave her his golden credit card and Susanne waved us goodbye as we took the elevator to the next destination.

"Nearly nine thousand dollars for a watch?! Are you crazy?" I nearly yelled once out of sight. Alec took my hand again and I was instantly calmer.

"Yeah Magnus. It's not a big deal."

I bit back the remark lying on my tongue and remained silent.

"Alec! Are you ready?" yelled Sebastian from his study.

I was already dressed and styled, a black and very classic but slim fit suit, a white button down underneath and a bit of dark guy liner. My hair was styled a bit and I had put on the silver bracelet from Dolce and Gabbana that Alec had gotten me even though I had told him that it was not even Christmas. He had ignored me and bought it anyway. I looked in the mirror and nearly didn't recognize me. The Armani suit fit perfectly, the leather shoes as well. I looked like I really belonged in this world.

"Alec!" yelled Sebastian again closing the last button of his shirt.

The one being called appeared in the doorway and smiled shyly at Sebastian. He looked stunning. He also had on a black suit, more modern and with a very narrow tie. The hair on the side of his head was a bit shorter than in the middle were it was styled with gel. He as well had put on some guy liner and he had tried to make the bruise on his jaw disappear.

"Come here." Ordered Sebastian and Alec came. He stepped behind his fiancé, both of them looking in the mirror.

"Do my tie."

Alec obeyed again and took the tie and put it around Sebastian's neck. In a few seconds Sebastian had a perfect tie, but he wasn't smiling, didn't even say thank you. Alec brushed some invisible dust off his shoulders but Sebastian shrugged him away like a bothersome fly.

"Go get me my watch Alec."

The man looked at me for a quick seconds and disappeared for a moment only to be back with a heavy looking silver Rolex watch. He gave it Sebastian and stepped away then like a servant leaving his king alone.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, whispered a bit so the boss wouldn't hear me. Alec shrugged and when he heard Sebastian coming closer he got on his tiptoes and gave me a kiss on my cheek. I saw him blush and wanted to say something but Sebastian was already standing before us.

"Are Jace and Jordan coming?" asked Alec hopefully. I knew why, he was scared because of that Victor guy. But he knew Seb's answer already.

"No. It will be just us three and Raphael."

"Who is coming from the Genovese family?" I asked not liking the tension in the air.

"Well….Victor obviously, Juan, Damon, Dave and maybe Big Red will be around. Not a lot of people so don't be nervous." He winked at me and I gulped. Why the hell was I nervous?

Maybe because I already knew that this night wouldn't end well…

**Well don't kill me please… I will update as soon as possible but right now I'm stressed with my final exams so try to understand. Anyway the words in Latin mean *friends know everything. Very mysterious. So what do you think will happen to Alec? And who is that Victor guy? Hm…the answers are in the next chapter. Also thank you sooooooooooooooo much for the reviews and for the people who are still reading this story : I LOVE YOU GUYS! **


	9. Chapter 9

Alec PoV

_It was one of those beautiful early summer days when Sebastian said his last goodbye to his father Valentine._

_Not far away from the city but still it felt as though our lives were completely different from those that surrounded us. The cemetery was filled with black figures standing in a half circle and wondering about Morgenstern's death. I wondered as well. They had killed him with three bullets in his back and left him lying on the cold ground to die. Now he was lying in the ground, buried under moist earth and the creatures of the night. _

_The tall oak tree seemed like a mother wanting to protect her children, its huge branches having grown strong with the years. The different shades of green from the leaves danced in the light summer breeze and hats and dresses moved slowly as though lovely music was directing them. They had come, they had come from everywhere and in the light sun from the afternoon they looked like silent observers watching a life come to an end. The sun painted our party in gold and bronze but the sad faces and tense postures didn't change. I heard the bird's symphony swaying in the wind and making my heart ache. I that moment I missed home more than I should have. _

_The green and fresh grass under my feet felt warm and welcoming and somewhere I heard water flowing. It was a breathtakingly beautiful summer day, those which never end in our dreams, our mind feeding them with hope and joy. I watched nature around us, so different from us but still part of our whole being. There weren't many people left once the coffin was in the ground and the earth had swallowed the last bit of Valentine Morgenstern the Capo dei Capi. _

_I stood there, my hand in Sebastian's , my eyes on him and my soul intertwined with his. I had never felt so strong about another person, till I met him. He was kind, he was patient and above all he respected me like his father never knew. At night I sometimes remember the Lovelock, those horrible years I had spent there kissing feet and bowing my head like a servant. Aren't we all servants? And when I remembered those moments Seb was always there, holding my shuddering form close to his body, telling me to think about a lovely summer day just like this one. Sebastian, with his leather jacket and smoke in his hand, always the rebel, always the fighter. Fighting for both of us in our worst moments. _

_The elegant men and women left shaking Sebastian's hand one last time, giving him a pat on the shoulder and then a cold glance. The man beside me didn't look up. His head bowed as though he had accepted defeat. I didn't know that Sebastian, the one without power and energy. He had saved me and taken me from that hole all by himself. And at night when I shook like a leaf in a storm he held me close to his body, talked to me and made me forget. Now I had to do the same thing although I knew that things would change, that he would change and become a stranger. I had known back then already when I first met him. Those kind dark eyes held more than just benevolence. But I had known that. _

_We were alone save Raphael and Camille who were Sebastian's closest friends. The woman gave me a weak smile and I returned it, my mouth feeling strange after all those days without a positive thought in my head. Sebastian sighed and let go of my hand, heading towards a bench made out of hard grey stone. Even stone looked soft in the rays of gold. Sebastian looked young, his fair hair sparkling like water and his black orbs huge like a frightened child. He must be scared because he knew that he would have to take over for his father. He had never wanted that, I knew. He had told me again and again that one day he'll go away with me, far away were no one knew our names. I had been stupid enough to believe him, or maybe I had just wanted to believe him. Believing in a lie was always the easiest. _

_He had promised me to take me to Paris and Rome and let me forget my past, it would have been just us and no rules and no father. _

_He had been a rebel, never thinking like his father never wanting to be like his father. He had told Valentine that I was his boyfriend and even though Valentine had never accepted me , Sebastian had never let go of my hand. He still smoked though a habit that would one day bite him in the ass I was sure. He looked young but at the same time old as though inside his body was a thousand year old soul trapped. All the people that had come to the cemetery had worn beautiful expensive clothes, while Sebastian remained in his leather jacket and torn jeans. And that's what I loved about him, never yielding, never obeying and always staying true to himself that was the Sebastian I knew. _

_"Go on" I heard Camille's voice from behind, my gaze fixed on Sebastian who had his back turned to us. "Help him." _

_I turned around to face her lovely face, her brilliant green eyes that were more alive than the grass underneath my feet. _

_I nodded and looked at Raphael who had his brow furrowed. _

_"What's wrong?" I asked him and the man shook his head. He had come in black as well, a very strange color to see him in. I saw him looking at something and followed his gaze. _

_There was a man, standing by himself and not wearing anything black. From the distance I could not see a lot but I knew he must be very tall. He had long legs and a narrow waist and as he came walking up the hill to us I saw his eyes never leaving Sebastian's hunched form. _

_He came to a halt in front of us and smiled a bit. He had dark brown curly hair and big hazel eyes that looked at us like we were unimportant. His beige pants and white shirt looked expensive and so I thought that anyone would have seen that he was a son of a Mafia clan Capo. I wanted to step forward and give him my hand but Raphael stopped me, his expression stony. _

_"Victor, what a great pleasure seeing you stopping by, but as you can see the party is over so why don't you -"_

_Victor who hadn't changed his little smile ignored the spoken word like they had never come out of Raphael's mouth. He just pushed past us and walked up to Seb. _

_Of course I knew that Victor and Sebastian were close, very close. But I also knew that Victor was not a good person to be around. There was something in the way he looked at me, the way his muscles moved under his skin that told me to be careful. If Sebastian was the tiger in the golden cage, waiting to be freed again, Victor would be the tamer. Cold and distant those were the perfect words to describe Sebastian's long-time friend. I had seen him before; dinners, parties. But I had never had the opportunity to look so closely at his attire and face. He was handsome no doubt, but dangerous just like a red flame. _

_"Sebastian, man, are you alright?" I heard Victor say, his hand on Sebastian's leather clad shoulder. Even though I couldn't see Sebastian's face I knew that he wore a grim expression. I saw Seb taking out a cigarette of his breast pocket and after a few seconds smoke coming out over his head like a chimney. I heard him mumble something, Victor sighing and sitting down next to him, his broad back turned on us just like Sebastian's. _

_"I need to go, Alec" I felt Camille's soft touch on my shoulder and I nodded in understanding with a soft smile on my dry lips. She said her goodbyes to Raphael and we watched her walk over the green carpet and in the blazing golden sunlight. I needed to think of Jace and his golden hair, but it hurt too much to think about my best friend who I hadn't seen in a while now. Who knew what he was up to...with Jace you never knew. _

_"Why do you think he didn't come to the funeral?" I asked Raphael without taking my eyes off of Sebastian and Victor's smoking forms. _

_I heard the South American man sigh. I turned around to look at him and saw worry written all over his face. His brown eyes under furrowed brows looked at me sternly. _

_"I don't know Alec." His gaze fell on the oak tree swaying in the summer breeze, some golden dots escaping through the leafs and falling on Raphael's face like paint on a blank canvas. _

_"Do you think because of Valentine?"_

_It was no secret that Victor Genovese hated Valentine Morgenstern. Well, most of the Clan had hated the cold man, but now that would surely change with Seb being the head of the Clan. _

_"Maybe" Raphael answered with his deep voice that sounded like it came from the underground. _

_It had been a long night and an even longer day. The funeral with so many people attending it, that Alec had lost count of them. They had blurred into a black mass of _something _that was almost eerie. Like crows they waited for death to come and like crows they flew away after witnessing the end of old Morgenstern. All those fake people giving Seb their hands to shake and their smiles to greet. Sebastian knew that it was all a big act, but now he also had to play his role. _

_"Maybe we should go and leave them alone." I said, thinking that maybe Seb wanted some privacy with his best friend. Raphael shrugged and then our eyes met. I knew he was thinking the same as me, that Sebastian needed us right now. I nodded and walked towards Seb and Victor leaving Raphael behind. _

_"…that's what he would have wanted, Seb, think about it." _

_When Victor heard me approach his hand slid over Seb's shoulder and down to his side, his voice diminished to a rapid whisper. _

_Seb hadn't changed his position only that his smoke was lying in the green grass. Victor cleared his throat making the whole situation awkward. _

_"Hey" I said not really knowing what to do._

_Sebastian looked up and smiled a bit, without warmth but it was more than the frown I had seen on his face more than I would have liked to. _

_"Do you want to, I don't know, maybe go eat something?" I hated sounding so unsure but somehow Victor's eyes on me made me nervous. _

_"Not eat, drink" said Seb those black orbs were on the ground again. _

_"Alright, then let's go."_

_I stretched my hand out for Seb to take it but the man ignored the gesture and stood up by himself as to show the world that he didn't need anybody to stand tall. He didn't need his father and he didn't want his money and legacy. _

_I let Seb walk by himself as we made our way to Raphael who was standing still like a statue._

_"Where are we going?" I heard Victor ask behind me and without turning around Seb answered._

_"Wild Horse" _

_Of course we weren't going to the MC, Seb loathed his father's club. He used to say that it was like a prison made out of gold and diamonds. Everyone trapped in it trying to please the masses. Seb didn't fit with the expensive brands and high-class beverages. If there was something he hated it would be champagne, hypocrisy and his father and all of the other Capos. _

_Victor nodded and walked a bit faster to catch up with me. I ignored him till he started talking to me._

_"So, Alec, how are you?"_

_I stopped in my tracks and watched as Seb and Raphael walked a bit faster to the cars parked near a flower shop. _

_I turned to see Victor's mocking smile on his lips._

_"I'm fine" I wanted to start walking again, the sun getting stronger by the minute and I was reminded again that black wasn't the best color to be dressed in on a hot day. _

_I felt Victor's hand holding me by the crook of my elbow. _

_"What is it?" _

_I didn't want to sound annoyed but if he had anything to say he should just –_

_"Did you talk to Angelo?" he finally asked me. _

_My brows furrowed and a look of confusion spread over my face. Angelo. One of the most famous and dangerous Capos, number one enemy of Valentine and now of Sebastian. At the thought of Seb I turned to see where the two men were but I didn't even see their shadows anymore. I sighed._

_"No. Why would I talk to Angelo. He hates Seb." I answered and Victor chuckled lightly then raised his eyebrows in a sceptical matter. _

_"Is that a reason not to talk to him?"_

_"I guess so." I didn't like the cockiness that tinged his voice, as though he knew something I didn't. _

_I really didn't want to have this conversation on a graveyard on a hot summer day and not with Seb's best friend. _

_"Why do you ask?" _

_"Well" Victor started walking again and I followed him downhill were Seb's motorbike was parked and so was his. "Let's just say that a little bird told me you did." _

_"Really?" I kept staring at the grass beneath my feet._

_"Really." His tone didn't change as we walked side by side to the parking lot of the cemetery._

_The silence carried us like the summer breeze to our rides but Sebastian and Raphael were nowhere to be seen. I came to halt in front of Seb's Yamaha and looked up at Victor. The sun was slowly burning my skin under the black suit coat that I had put on this morning because showing respect was one of the most important things for the mafia. _

_"Why don't you tell me what this is really about, Victor?"_

_I was grateful for my short hair now that the wind was getting stronger as was the sun. The beautiful day was turning into a battle of nature's force. Victor snorted, his lips tightly pressed together and his eyes on the shadow of the motorbike. _

_After a moment of hesitation he looked up and met my gaze. _

_"You know who Angelo is right?"_

_I nodded without further explanation, he knew as well as I did. Everybody knew one of the most important Capos._

_"Well this is confidential, something that might be very important for Sebastian." _

_The words were spoken in a rash whisper as though he was scared of the sound of them. And just like that the wind carried the syllables over the graveyard to the dead whose ears would never hear them. _

_"Why are you telling me this? I don't work for Angelo!"_

_There had been rumours about a rat in the Morgenstern Clan, of course there were rats everywhere but sooner or later someone caught them, not necessarily with a slice of cheese. _

_"If you are trying to find out if I am the rat then I can tell you straight up that I am not." _

_I was not angry at Victor, not directly. I was disappointed in Sebastian that he would tell his best friend to interrogate me, because he thought that I might be the rat. That hurt, and more when you spent the last two years with that person, when that person was supposed to be your saviour, your hero or whatever cheesy name you'd call it. _

_"Relax, man, I'm not saying anything."_

_"Then why the hell are we even talking about Angelo?"_

_I must admit, I was getting very annoyed at Victor. Bu then again, he had never been straight forward always deceiving the eye. _

_"Because I wanted to tell you that Angelo's luck is running out."_

_"What does that mean?"_

_Angelo had been in the 'business' for quite some time, running it smoothly._

_Victor's hand went to his hair and it seemed like he was nervous and anxious about telling me._

_The man in front of me sighed then and said: "We have reasons to assume that Angelo will soon be behind bars."_

_I knew my eyes went wide upon hearing this. It wasn't that I feared for Angelo's well-being, but if such an important and professional Capo could get caught by the police, then no one was safe. _

_"What reasons?" My jaw was tight, my mouth felt like a dry desert and my eyes were hurting from the unyielding sunlight. _

_"Let's just say that he is not the only one with some holes in his wall."_

_"Holes where a rat would fit through?" _

_Victor looked at me and in his eyes I saw the answer. The little twinkle in the corner, the way his lips quivered. He was the rat._

_"So you work for Angelo?" I asked, my eyebrows raised my voice steady._

_"I work for the Genovese's" he replied and I nodded. Of course he would get his family all the information but pretend to be working for Angelo. _

_"Why are you telling me this?" I asked again and thought that this conversation would never come to an end._

_"I can't tell Seb myself, that would put me in jeopardy, but you can." When he spoke the last words his fingers poked into my clothed chest where I was sure little puddles of sweat had formed on._

_"So you want me to tell him that Angelo might go on a little vacation?"_

_Victor nodded with a satisfied though grim smile. "And watch out for the rat!" _

_"Who do you think it is?" If somebody knew than either Victor or Raphael, the man knew everything._

_Victor shrugged and looked towards the florist where two figures were walking out of with two huge bouquets of flowers in their hands. _

_"I think it could be anyone, so keep your eyes open Alec." _

_With those words he turned around and up to Seb and Raphael. I did the same and as I came closer I looked at Sebastian and thought that in those black eyes was already so much hidden. How would it be in the future? Secret after secret would be filling them, consuming him like a disease till he broke. _

_"These are for you, Alec" I heard Seb say and I looked up with a fake smile on my lips. I had to be strong for him now; I had to help him in every possible way. Angelo would try to kill Sebastian before anyone locked him up. And there was the business with the rat…_

_"Thank you Seb" I took the wild flowers in my right hand and with my left I brought Seb closer to me to give him a peck on the lips._

_"Whose are those for?" I asked Raphael who was also holding a dozen white roses. The man looked at Seb and I followed his gaze to see his beautiful smile vanish._

_"For my father." He said then, after a moment of silence. He never had had a good relationship with his father, but now in death, forgiveness and redemption were the only things left to give. The rest was history. _

_I nodded and took Sebastian's hand. _

_"We will go together" I said then and watched his face full of sorrow warm up._

_In that moment where our eyes were connected, I felt as though there was no one except Sebastian in the whole world. We were alone, we were one._

_I sighed and we started climbing the green hill where the grass swayed in the breeze and the different shades of green came to life under the rays of shun. We walked hand in hand towards his father's grave and not once did we look back. _

* * *

_"What made you change your mind?"_

_I was sitting in a very comfortable chair, red velvet and gold, fit for a king. But I didn't feel like a king on a throne, more like a pig on a salver._

_The house I was currently visiting was more a mansion than an ordinary house. It had huge white marble pillars all over the place, the floor was a rose colored granite and around the huge French windows were heavy looking velvet drapes. The furniture reminded me of an antique baroque palace; oil painting of angels and cathedrals framed with gold and bronze. There were marble statues of Michael Angelo's Cleopatra and on the high ceiling there where the hands of Adam and God made out of tiny stones. The chandeliers shimmered in the evening sun that dip- paint the room in red and orange. The room I was sitting in had a beautiful view over the front yard where flowers of all colors were slowly closing as the day started to fade away into the dark night. From a distance I could hear the lapping of water and the wings of the birds that made their way back to their homes to rest for the night. There was no light in the house; the only source was the setting sun that would soon disappear over the horizon._

_I looked around me and finally my eyes settled on the man in front of me. He must be in his forties, I thought, his raven black hair slowly starting to withdraw around the edges. The skin around his eyes had started to wrinkle and on his furrowed front were some deep lines. His straight nose and tight lips made him look stern and rigorous. No beard but a small tattoo on his right wrist, the symbol of his Clan. The most striking trait were his eyes, a luminescent green that outshone the spring grass and any emerald._

_I was nervous; my hands were balled into tight fists, my lips caught between my straight teeth and my breath coming out short. _

_The man in front of me shifted his weight and I instinctively flinched. I heard him chuckle a bit and my eyes were too afraid to meet his._

_"Alexander Lightwood" he said. He had a very deep voice, a voice that you would like to hear in a museum or in an opera house. It filled the empty halls and penetrated through my whole body like an echo. I felt the chair vibrate with the sound of it or maybe it was just my imagination. _

_He was sitting in front of me on a white and black leather couch, a very classic black suit with a red tie around his neck. He had broad shoulders and was very tall. _

_"Look at me, boy."_

_The order didn't sound rough like Valentine's used to be, but old Morgenstern had been buried on a summer day a year ago. Now Sebastian had taken over. At the thought of Sebastian, my fiancée my hands hurt from squeezing them so tightly. He would pay. And exactly for that reason I was here, sitting in front of Angelo. _

_I raised my eyes to look at him and saw a light smile on his lips._

_"So?" was the only thing he said, his eyebrows almost touching his hairline, the deep lines on his front even more pronounced now._

_I unclenched my fist and let my sweaty palms rest on my jeans clad thighs. I took a deep breath to steady myself, my heart beating so fast that I thought I must be having a heart attack. Angelo didn't say anything, of course he knew I was nervous, who wouldn't be when meeting him. _

_"I changed my mind." I said, my voice way too wavy to sound convinced. I didn't know if I was doing the right thing, but who decides what is right or wrong anyway?_

_Angelo nodded his eyes on the setting sun in the distance. Then he got up and once again I felt small beside him. I saw him step to the window, his nose almost touching the glass. It was nearly the end of summer, some of the trees already starting to change colors. The previous heat had vanished and left were the last flowers and the hot stones._

_"Do you know what Denis Waitley said, Alexander?"_

_I shook my head, I didn't even know who that was. Although Angelo couldn't see me, my silence spoke more than any words._

_"Denis Waitley is an author who said some very wise word."_

_"Oh, yeah?" I knew I sounded like a frightened teenager but I really was not older than that. _

_Angelo ignored me and continued in his even and deep voice much like a priest preaching. And just like in church I believed everything he said, he said it with such conviction that there was no doubt he was telling the truth. He could say the sky was purple and I would probably still be sitting here like an idiot. _

_"'Listen to the desires of your children. Encourage them and then give them the autonomy to make their own decision.'" He said and then turned around again. His face was cast in shadows but his light green eyes kept shining like a beacon of light. _

_"Do you understand, Alexander Lightwood?" _

_What was there to understand? Everyone made their own decisions, form their point of view probably the right ones. I nodded and Angelo sat down again, the leather squeaking like a pig. _

_"Do you know that I have a son?" he continued, me only wanting to go home and forget my revenge. But I couldn't, not after what Sebastian had done to my brother._

_I shook my head. I had heard rumours but you could never trust those. People tend to talk a lot and most of it is trash. _

_"Well, I do. A son actually, a few years older than you." _

_I nodded and thought that the man must think I am mute or stupid. _

_"Is he here?" I asked just to say something. I didn't know if I was in a position to be asking about a Capo's life, but Angelo didn't seem to mind. _

_"No, he left after his mother died. Tragic accident." _

_There were lots of rumour surrounding Angelo, one of them that he himself had killed his wife. Who knew what the truth really was._

_"I believe in Waitley's words. I think that parents should always let their children choose their own paths. Let them decide for themselves what they want to be in life, where they want to end up."_

_"Is that why your son is not living with you?" I asked and for a moment I thought I had said something wrong, but then Angelo chuckled and gave me a genuine smile._

_"Quite clever, aren't you?" after a moment he continued "You may be right Alexander. He is studying to become a lawyer, you know? What irony."_

_It was indeed ironic, the father one of the most wanted criminals and the son studies law, go figure. _

_"Well it is only ironic if we think of ourselves as criminals, right?"_

_I thought about that for a moment, but the truth couldn't be denied. La Cosa Nostra was nothing but illegal activities mixed with blackmailing and murder. There was nothing rightful about it, and yet here I was, talking to Angelo._

_At first I had thought that he wouldn't talk personally to me, seeing as I am not nearly as important as him. But then when I met him I began to understand why he was so good at what he did. Why every rat would get caught after a few weeks. Because he knew everyone personally. He knew what his employees dreams where, what they feared for, who they cheated on and which brand of pasta they preferred. He knew them all and just like that he knew who was a rat and who wasn't. _

_And I wanted to be exactly that, his rat, telling him what Sebastian was up to and giving him all the information he needed to finish the Morgenstern Clan._

_"You think we are criminals?" His strong voice brought me back to the present and I shrugged and said then: "I think that a criminal is guilty of a crime which basically means that we overstepped the Law's boundaries."_

_Angelo looked at me for a moment without saying anything._

_"Would you move to another city to study that which encages us?" he asked me._

_I looked out of the vast double windows, the sun having left the sky, leaving only purple and orange behind. There were no clouds and no wind, everything stood still as though time was frozen. _

_"I think that just like decisions are, this one is also subjective. You could see it your way; it encages us, but you could see it your son's way also; that it keeps us from hurting those around us."_

_"It is always about perspective then?"_

_"Yes, I think so." I said. My body had calmed, my nerves weren't on edge anymore, my breathing coming out normally._

_"Hm." He said and stood up once again to turn on the light. The chandelier made out of hundreds of diamonds illuminated the room. Angelo walked to a dark wooden table underneath a classic painting showing a man wearing an elegant dark jacket and black pants. His reddish hair seemed to move in the breeze. His back turned he looked directly into the foggy mountains ahead of him. I couldn't stop myself from wondering why someone would be all alone in such a deserted place. There was nothing except bare rock and a white grey horizon. He looked pensive, not sad, but lonely. I guessed that he would even be lonely when not alone. _

_I saw Angelo looking at me as I am captured by the painting._

_"You know the name of the painting?" he asked me and before sitting down again he handed me a think and heavy glass with amber liquid in it. "Cheers." He says and I took the fancy glass to my lips and took a sip. The burning of the alcohol filled my mouth and tingled on my tongue. I felt the cold cognac travel to my stomach and for a second I was willing to forgive and forget what Sebastian did to Max. But then I opened my blue eyes again and saw Angelo gazing out the window, into the almost nearly deep blue sky. Only some streaks of pink and violet are visible. _

_"It's good" I said and Angelo nodded._

_"It better be, cost me 5 thousand the bottle of Jenssen Arcana" _

_At hearing this I nearly spat out some of the expensive Cognac that was still lingering in my mouth. Angelo chuckled and said then: "It's called 'Wanderer above the Sea of Fog' " he said, "painted by Casper David Friedrich" _

_I looked up at the painting again, it was beautiful how someone could convey solitude, melancholy and woe by taking a paintbrush and a blank canvas. _

_"He looks sad" I said and Angelo nodded._

_"There surely must be a reason he is up there by himself."_

_With that he took another sip, his green eyes never leaving me like a snake watching a mouse. _

_"So, Alexander, tell me now. What made you change your mind? Why come to me after rejecting me so many times." His voice echoed through the room and for one moment I thought that even the sole wanderer _

_could hear him. "I must say you showed courage. In many years I have not heard the word 'no' but then you come along and say it over and over again. You must have some guts boy to be showing up here like this."_

_His words and the Cognac made me dizzy and I searched for a place to sit the heavy glass down, afraid I might let it slip out of my trembling fingers. Not finding anything I settled for letting it rest on my thighs. _

_"Something happened." I said and Angelo kept looking at me. I sighed and continued. _

_"Talking about choices, Sebastian made one that affected me in a…not so good way."_

_"'Not so good', what's that supposed to mean?" _

_Angelo had his legs crossed –over, his chin resting on his elbow which was popped up on the leather armrest. His look wasn't dark or menacing, but it seemed as though he could see right through me. It chilled me to the bone. With the light of the sun gone, the yard didn't look as beautiful anymore. It looked cold and desolate, much like the painting. _

_"He made a bad deal with some bad people" I started with a shaky voice like a leaf in the wind._

_"What deal?"_

_I gulped and took another sip of the burning cold liquid. Like a wild panther it ran through my body igniting my bones and bursting my nerves into flames. _

_"A deal with the Sorrentino's. He would deliver them some drugs, I don't know if it was Cocaine or crystal meth, but it was a huge delivery."_

_"What went wrong?" I heard the ice cubes shatter in Angelo's glass._

_"The Sorrentino's didn't want to pay the price for the merchandise. So they started to fight, guns were pointed, well you know." I said my voice a bit steadier than at the beginning. _

_"And then?" _

_I looked Angelo in the eyes and continued, not wanting to appear weak. _

_"Then the feud was created. Sebastian wanted revenge and set fire to a hospital."_

_Here I stopped for a second. I never told anyone this story, not even Victor who was the one that told me to go to Angelo if I wanted to get my revenge. And so I did. Victor, the best friend of Sebastian worked for his worst enemy. I still remember that summer day, the funeral, when he told me that he was only pretending to work for Angelo. What a lie, he was the rat all along, I found out later but I never told Seb, hating him already for what he did. _

_Angelo didn't ask which hospital; of course he knew everything that I was telling him, he knew what his employees would eat for supper of course he knew which Clan had a feud going on. _

_"What has that got to do with you?"_

_"I" I gulped "my brother was in the hospital. My little brother Max."_

_"What happened to him?"_

_In some ways I felt like a crazy paranoid person sitting there with his psychotherapist. But it was a Capo. _

_"He got burned very badly and due to a steel pillar breaking his legs he… he is in a wheelchair."_

_There was a moment of silence and then Angelo's strong voice filled my ears again._

_"I am sorry, Alexander. How old is your brother?"_

_"He is nine now. He and my sister moved to L.A after the incident. My brother had nightmares and couldn't get the rest he needed here, in a city where everything reminded him of the things that had been taken from him. He needed to get away for a bit."_

_"Did Sebastian Morgenstern know that your brother was in the building at that time?"_

_At that I looked into the emerald green eyes and nodded a bitter expression on my face, making me look like a haunted soul, older than the painting on the wall but exactly as lonely and full of sorrow. _

_"Yes" I said grim " Max had been born with a bad lung so every now and then he had to go and check if everything was still okay. We went the day before, me and Sebastian, we went and Sebastian read a comic book to Max. He looked a nine year old boy in the eyes and smiled and knew that he'd be scarred for life after this. But he didn't care. He looked him in the eyes and didn't care!"_

_My breath was rapid, my heart was fast and my eyes shone with unshed tears. I remembered that day, only a day before the flames ate away the hospital. I remembered Sebastian's hand in mine, his laugh in my ear that turned out to be nothing but lies. His eyes on mine, his voice in the air like sweet perfume. Everything a lie, he had known already then and he had done nothing. He hadn't moved a finger he hadn't told me. _

_"So what is it that you seek from me, Alexander?"_

_I took another sip of the amber liquid and let it burn through my being. _

_"I want my revenge." I said._

_"Hm" Angelo looked up at the ceiling where Adam's and God's hands were nearly touching. _

_"You know what Marcus Aurelius said?"_

_Even though right now I was not in the mood for another lecture I shook my head, the glass raised to my lips again. _

_"He said: 'The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.'"_

_"Does that mean that revenge is stupid?" I asked the man with the extraordinary green eyes. _

_"I wouldn't say stupid, more like unwise."_

_"But why would you care?" I said and saw Angelo's eyebrows rise. " I mean at the end you got what you wanted. You wanted me on your side for long now, and I always said no because I loved Sebastian and I would never betray him. But after what he did to Max, I hate him. I loathe him with every fiber of him body, every breath I take I think about him paying for what he did and every time I sleep next to him I am about to snap his neck. So why would you care if it is the wrong decision? You get what you wanted; I am here, am I not?"_

_"You are right, the result is the same, but the way is the important nuance. How you get there, is vital. Right now you are blinded by hate, and think that revenge is the only way to help your brother. Wrong. Your brother can't be helped anymore unless with therapy. " he said " You have to calm down a bit and after a few weeks contact me again and then we'll see if you are still up for the job."_

_I wanted to say something, my mouth already open but Angelo stopped me with a wink of his hand. _

_"Alexander" he continued his voice calmer than before "to be a good snitch you have to have a clear head. It won't work otherwise."_

_He took a deep breath and then a sip out of his glass. I looked down at mine which I was holding between my clammy hands and saw that it was half empty already._

_"Revenge is not a good motivation, you know."_

_"Why else would I be here?" I said a bit too moody maybe, but Angelo smiled._

_"Maybe you are lying to me and are just here for Sebastian."_

_At his words I stopped dead in my tracks, my glass in midair. _

_"What?"_

_Angelo's face was indecipherable. Was it all a test? Was it a trap, to get me to the house to blackmail Sebastian? Even though right now I wasn't so sure he would come to rescue me. _

_"Are you still working for him?" Angelo asked me and I shook my head._

_"No, no, no. Everything I told you is true. I swear!" I saw him get up, his long legs, his broad shoulders and knew that if he never wanted to let me go, he could. I was powerless against him, just a scared little boy, blinded by rage and blood. I suddenly understood Angelo's words. Revenge was no good motivation. It had lead me into a trap, it had made me believe I was invincible. But I wasn't, I was just Alec, the boy who had sucked on more cocks than on ice cream cones. _

_I gulped as I saw Angelo come nearer and thought that this was it. It was the end; I would never get out of this mansion alive or in one piece. _

_And the strange thing about it was that I wasn't blaming Sebastian for my miserable situation. I was just blaming myself and my stupid brain for not thinking enough. _

_I saw Angelo standing in front of me, his hand stretching out and I was sure that he'd choke me to death right that instant. _

_Then he took my glass._

_It slipped right through my sweaty fingers and into Angelo's big hand. He stood still for a moment, me still sitting on the velvet chair looking up like a gnome on a giant._

_"Nervous?" he said and chuckled darkly. As he turned around to set down the two glasses on the wooden table, I let out a breath I was holding. My lungs were alight and my muscles were ready to pop due to the tension. Angelo sat down again and looked at me._

_"What did you think about just now?" he said and I swallowed the lump in my throat that was the size of Central Park._

_"Why did I get myself into this situation?" I didn't know why I made it sound like a question, but I was so on edge that it was normal I guessed. _

_"Why did _you_ get yourself into it, right?" _

_"Yeah, right" I looked at the ceiling again, the two hands only centimeters apart but enough to make me want to push them together so they would finally connect. It was annoying really that they would never touch. _

_"You didn't blame me or Sebastian or anyone but yourself."_

_He sounded satisfied as though I had passed the test. Maybe I had, who knew._

_"And?"_

_Angelo laughed and it sounded like a rich waterfall._

_"I like you Alexander. You may not know a lot about art and literature, but you are curious. Always good."_

_"Isn't it that curiosity killed the cat?"_

_"Well, then good for us that you are no cat, but a rat." He winked at me and I nearly smiled a bit. Nearly, I was still recovering from the previous shock. I looked out the window for what seemed like the hundredth time and saw that it was pitch black outside. The hours had gone by flying or maybe the sun just set fast, I didn't know. _

_"That means that you can learn, that you can see past the revenge. It may still be why you do it, but you can think straight. Good, I like it." He said and I nodded. So it was a test._

_"Have you never done anything out of revenge?" I said and saw how his expression sobered. His gaze dropped for a second but for so short that I thought I might have imagined it. _

_"I have."_

_"Was it worth it?" I asked him, I could sense that he was not comfortable with this subject._

_"I don't know, I will never know I guess." His pensive tone made his voice seem even darker and deeper._

_"Why not?" _

_"Because Alexander" he said, "I will never know what would have happened if I hadn't taken that gun, if I hadn't pulled the trigger." _

_I nodded, that was the difficult thing about decisions; you could only make them once._

_"Let's talk about your job" he said quickly._

_I nodded and let him continue in his steady voice._

_"You will have to play nice with Sebastian Morgenstern and everything of importance you will tell me, directly me. I don't want anybody else involved in this; it will be just you and me."_

_I nodded once again, feeling a bit like a marionette in the hands of unknown forces. Was I playing with fire here? Again I had to think about the wanderer, on top of the world but totally alone. Was it like that to be a Capo? No one to trust, no family, no friends. Heavy is the head that wears the crown._

_I looked around the room and saw no pictures of Angelo or his relatives. There were those beautiful classic paintings but no memories; it was as though Angelo was just a Capo; not a father, a husband and an uncle. Just a Capo, a hard shell made of steel with no soul, just power. _

_"How will I know what is of importance and what not?" I asked him and he tilted his head to the side._

_"Well, I believe that when the time comes to decide you'll make the right choice."_

_Always decision, they weight heavy._

_"Alright" was the only thing I said, thinking that soon it would be time to go home. Sebastian was surely not worried about me, but he might get suspicious, more so, because neither Jace nor Jordan were with me._

_"How do I get the information to you? Email or a -"_

_"Never email and never a letter. I will give you a phone where you can reach me at, not anybody else. Just me. "_

_"How is the phone safer than the email?"_

_"You wouldn't write an email to your uncle telling him you'll be late for dinner, right?"_

_"You'll be my uncle?" I said, finding this whole situation ridiculous. _

_Angelo nodded and said then:" Do you visit your uncle sometimes?"_

_I shook my head_

_"I don't have any relatives here in New York City."_

_"Well then I'll be your sister, alright? Don't you call her from time to time?"_

_I nodded again" Yeah, I do"_

_"Then perfect." Angelo said and stood up. I did the same and the man walked me to the door, not the front one, but a nice white double door that separated the living room from the one we were in._

_"Every two weeks you'll call me and tell me exactly what is going on. I want no details if they aren't important, understood?"_

_"Yes" I said my hand on the golden doorknob._

_"Do you have a gun, Alexander, do you know how to use it?"_

_"Aehm..no"I said. I was a bit embarrassed that I didn't have a gun. " I mean I can shoot pretty well but I don't own one." _

_Angelo nodded and put his hand over mine to open the door for me. I stepped into a dark cold hallway, statues and oil paintings covering the walls but making it look even more eerie. _

_"I'll get you a nice one, don't you worry." He said "Listen, come here in a week and I'll start to show you some tricks, alright?"_

_I didn't know what he meant by that but I nodded again and Angelo smiled a bit. _

_He walked to the front door with me where two huge men in black where positioned with guns on each side. Angelo didn't even acknowledge that they were standing there. He opened the heavy looking door for me and I stepped out in the warm night. _

_"And try to forget a bit of that revenge in you, Alexander; it will only leave you lonely and miserable."_

_I turned around and looked at Angelo one last time._

_"Did you kill your wife? Was that why your son left?"_

_I saw something in his green eyes, and if I wasn't completely out of my mind I saw regret. But it was gone and the wall around his soul was back up in a second._

_"My son left because he wanted to" he said and was about to close the door when I asked:" What is your son's name?"_

_"Magnus" he said._

_And with that Angelo Bane closed the door and left me standing there in the dark night. _

_Back then I would never have imagined that I would grow to love his son. _

**AN:/ Hello! I know I have been away for a while now, but I finished school so now I'll have more time, promised! I would like to thank all of my crazy and lovely readers and my reviewers, I love you to death! I hope you are not confused by the chapter, now you finally know who Angelo is. LOVE YOU LIKE CRAZZY! xoxo**


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